Gun-toting boy, 14, put on probation

A 14-year-old boy who brought a handgun to Smith Valley School earlier this month will remain under Youth Court supervision until he is 16.

Roger Lewis Vaughn of Kalispell was put on formal probation Friday after admitting to possession of a weapon in school, a misdemeanor.

During a hearing Friday, Flathead County District Judge Stewart E. Stadler also ordered Vaughn to complete mental health and chemical dependency evaluations and write an essay on themes in "Bowling for Columbine," the Michael Moore documentary film.

Vaughn, who said during brief testimony Friday that he took the 9 mm pistol from his grandfather's house, brought the loaded weapon to Smith Valley School on the morning of Feb. 4.

"I put it in my backpack and brought it to school," Vaughn said from the witness stand.

Vaughn also testified he never brandished the weapon or threatened people with it.

Authorities have said evidence collected in connection with the case indicated that Vaughn had no intention of hurting anybody.

According to court documents, a sixth-grade boy told school officials that Vaughn took him into the boy's restroom and showed him the pistol.

Vaughn allegedly removed the magazine - which the other student said contained five or six rounds - before returning the magazine to the gun, racking the slide, and then putting the weapon in his waistband.

A second student told investigators he had seen Vaughn earlier in the school day and Vaughn told him he had a gun.

Vaughn, however, told investigators the gun was in the outside compartment of his backpack and the magazine was out of the weapon.

After learning Vaughn may have the gun at school, school officials notified the Sheriff's Office. On Feb. 5 investigators searched Vaughn's home and his grandfather's home, recovering the pistol from the second residence.

Vaughn was not in school that day.

Vaughn, who was not prosecuted as an adult, has been expelled from Smith Valley School for two years.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com