BORDERLAND

Former Start student gets 43-month sentence

7/25/2014

A former Start High School student who brought a loaded handgun to school was sentenced Thursday to 43 months in prison.

Willie Carter III, 19, of 1928 Brame Pl. pleaded guilty July 7 in Lucas County Common Pleas Court to having a weapon while under disability and entered an Alford plea — not admitting guilt — to trafficking in marijuana.

Carter admitted bringing a .45-caliber pistol to school with him April 28. Police also found seven small bags of marijuana in his possession. Carter, who was later expelled, told the court the marijuana was for his personal use and not for sale.

In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Ruth Ann Franks suspended his driver’s license for five years. She dismissed charges of carrying a concealed weapon, illegal possession of a deadly weapon in a school-safety zone, and a second count of trafficking in marijuana as part of a plea agreement.