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Schools

Sickles senior arrested after handgun found in car

By Times Staff Writer
Published January 11, 2006

TAMPA - An 18-year-old Sickles High student was arrested Tuesday after school officials discovered a handgun in his car.

Todd James Williams, a senior, was booked into the Orient Road Jail after officials found a loaded .357-caliber Magnum under the front seat of his 1985 Pontiac.

A fellow student called in a tip about the gun at 1:15 p.m. on the anonymous CrimeStoppers tip line, a school spokesman said.

Besides facing a felony charge of possessing a firearm on school grounds, Williams was also charged with taking drugs into a detention facility. While he was being booked, deputies discovered a baggie of less than 0.7 ounces of marijuana in his possession.

School district spokesman Stephen Hegarty said it didn't appear Williams planned to use the gun at school. "My understanding is that he felt that he needed it for protection in his neighborhood," Hegarty said.

Williams, who lives at 13608 Colorado Place, received an automatic 10-day suspension from school and will be recommended for expulsion.

Principal Jake Russell lauded the actions of the student or students who tipped authorities. "The students who called CrimeStoppers deserve all of our thanks for doing the right thing," he wrote in a letter sent home to parents Tuesday afternoon.

Anyone seeking to report suspicious behavior can call the anonymous tip line at 1-800-873-8477.

[Last modified January 11, 2006, 00:40:10]