A former Granger High School teacher is scheduled to return to court next week on allegations he had two guns at school and showed one of them to some students.
Kendall Jackson, 37, has entered a plea of not guilty in West Valley Justice Court to two counts of having a dangerous weapon at school and one count of performing an unlawful act at school, all class B misdemeanors.
Jackson was a special education teacher at Granger High School before resigning in early March.
In January, two students reported to police that Jackson pulled a black gun out of a bag in front of them, revealing only the handle, said West Valley Police Capt. Tom McLachlan.
The students were reportedly talking about a problem they had, when Jackson pulled out the gun and said, "This is how I take care of my problems," McLachlan said.
Jackson only revealed the handle of the gun before putting it back in the bag and into his desk, McLachlan said. He did not point the gun at any of the students nor threaten them, he said.
"The defendant showed the BB gun to students and led them to believe it was a real gun, thereby causing alarm and/or disturbance to the students," according to court charges.
Originally it was thought the gun might be a starter pistol used by the track team. Jackson was an assistant track coach with the high school.
Investigators later learned, however, that the gun was actually a Co2 powered BB gun, McLachlan said. In addition, investigators also found a stun gun in the teacher's desk.
A court summons was sent to Jackson on Feb. 15. A pretrial conference is set for Monday.
Martin Bates, an attorney with the Granite School District and an assistant to the superintendent for policy and legal services, said he was just beginning the district's investigation into the incident when Jackson resigned.
Jackson had been teaching in the district since 1997.
State law does allow for a teacher to carry a concealed weapon in school if they have a permit, Bates said. But once a weapon is exposed in school it is no longer considered concealed, he said.
Bates called this an isolated incident.
"If there were more teachers putting stuff like that in their desks we'd get more reports. Kids are good at reporting that," he said.
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