Wesson Police Department officials are pursuing criminal chargesalleging Wesson Attendance Center administrators violated the lawin their handling of a recent student matter involving a handgunfound at the school.

Police Chief Steve Carlisle said affidavits filed by hisdepartment allege WAC Principal Billy Britt failed to notify locallaw enforcement as required by law and then obstructed justice bynot cooperating in the investigation of the incident.

“He did not go along with the investigation and refused to givenames of the students and teachers involved,” the chief saidtoday.

An affidavit has also been filed against Ronald Greer, principalof elementary school at WAC, for failing to notify local lawenforcement officials, Carlisle said.

Britt was away from school attending a workshop and unavailablefor comment today. Greer was handling a school matter today and wasalso unavailable.

Wesson town prosecutor Bob Lawrence, of Crystal Springs, willpresent the affidavits to a circuit court judge to determine ifprobable cause exists to continue with the charges, Carlislesaid.

Under state law, before a teacher can be charged with committinga crime while in the performance of their duties, there must be aprobable cause hearing to determine if there is sufficientevidence. The law was enacted to protect certain figures inauthority from undue incarceration.

Lawrence said this morning he had seen a draft of theaffidavits.

Once he receives a final version, Lawrence said he would consultwith Wesson Police officials and, if desired, move forward withseeking a probable cause hearing. He did not know when that mightbe.

Carlisle said state law mandates schools immediately notify thelocal law enforcement agency of any violent or unlawful act oneducational property. The possession or use of a deadly weapon,such as a firearm, is specifically listed as an unlawful act in thestatute, he said.

The potential charges result from an incident at the school Feb.21 when a seventh-grade student brought a handgun from home ontothe campus.

Britt has said the student never posed a danger to otherstudents.

“I don’t think his intentions were to hurt anyone,” Britt saidlast Wednesday. “He didn’t endanger anyone with it and he had noshells.”

Britt refused to disclose where the handgun was found, but saidit was never displayed in a threatening manner to other students.He said he did not know why the student brought the handgun to theschool.

School officials were told of the handgun by another student,Britt said, and they immediately confiscated the weapon.

“We followed the requirements of our handbook,” Britt said. “Wedid notify the proper authorities. We didn’t notify the policedepartment because we have security here we work with.”

Copiah County School District Assistant Superintendent MarthaTraxler agreed.

“They have to notify the proper authorities and they did that.They consulted our board attorney and followed his direction,” shesaid.

Meanwhile, the student was placed under house arrest at hisparents’ home in Brookhaven following a hearing in Juvenile Courtin Hazlehurst Friday. The student had been staying with hisgrandmother in Wesson at the time of the incident.

A second hearing is scheduled for sometime in March, Carlislesaid.

The student has also been suspended for 10 days pending ahearing by the Copiah County School District Board of Trustees, thepolice chief said.