MT district takes precautionary measure during missing handgun investigation Friday; no weapon found at schools

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After authorities discovered a handgun was missing from a Clyburn Avenue home where three juveniles had reportedly been Friday morning, the decision was made to put Miami Trace Local Schools on a “shelter in place” status as a precautionary measure.

At around 8:30 a.m., the U.S. Marshals Service Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Task Force (SOFAST), in coordination with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and the local Adult Parole Authority (APA), served an arrest warrant for a parole violator at 426 Clyburn Ave. in Washington C.H.

“Because the APA has the authority to search the residence, they did so and found a clip of ammunition inside but no weapon,” said Sheriff Vernon Stanforth. “They were not allowed to have a weapon or even the ammunition for it because they were under supervision by Adult Probation and/or parole.”

The two who were arrested inside the home — Chuck Tackett and Amber Robinson — did not cooperate when asked about the whereabouts of the handgun, according to Stanforth. Further investigation found that three students — one who lived at 426 Clyburn Ave. — had been at the residence earlier in the morning and that all three were Miami Trace High School students.

“We notified Miami Trace and advised that they be placed on a shelter in place out of an abundance of caution,” said Stanforth. “This also gave us an opportunity to locate the three students. Two of them were in class at the high school. They were called to the office, we interviewed them and their lockers and personal effects were searched. Nothing was found and they denied any knowledge of a weapon.”

The third juvenile was brought by his father to the sheriff’s office. He also told authorities he had no knowledge of the weapon.

“All three cooperated and we feel confident that none of the three had the weapon,” said Stanforth. “Again, the situation at Miami Trace was a cautionary measure we felt compelled to take until we had answers as to the whereabouts of the students and if they had a weapon. The weapon still hasn’t been accounted for. There is always the possibility it could have been sold…there are several possibilities. But our main concern was if it was taken to the school, and thankfully, it was not.”

Tackett was charged with five probation violation warrants and Robinson was charged with violating the terms of her probation. Additional charges are pending.

A search warrant was also obtained to search the property at 426 Clyburn Ave., according to Stanforth. A small amount of methamphetamine was allegedly found as well as drug paraphernalia.

Miami Trace lifted the shelter in place status at around 9:45 a.m. once the sheriff’s office was confident that the weapon was not on school premises.

According to a statement released by Miami Trace, “normal class activity was occurring” during the shelter in place, “but we limited the movement throughout the buildings. There were no immediate threats to our students and staff. As always, student safety is a top priority for our district.”

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By Ryan Carter

[email protected]

Reach Ryan Carter at 740-313-0352 or on Twitter @rywica

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