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By Kate York, kyork@mariettatimes.com
POSTED: February 7, 2008
MARIETTA TIMES

The Marietta College student suspended for bringing guns onto campus has been charged with a fourth-degree felony, and another charge could be coming after a search of his grandmother’s Akron home revealed more than a dozen other weapons. A summons was issued for Robert L. Walker II, 22, by Marietta Municipal Court Wednesday on a concealed weapons charge. Walker is due in court at 9 a.m. Feb. 13. Washington County Prosecutor Jim Schneider said there’s also the possibility of another charge, based on a search of the Akron home of Walker’s grandmother Wednesday. According to the case’s affidavit of facts, the guns and ammunition found in Walker’s car on the college campus Monday included an AK-47, a Remington shotgun, a 9 mm handgun, loaded magazines, 1,771 assorted rounds of ammunition and parts to an AR-15. “Officers found ammunition there that didn’t match any of those guns, leading them to think there were more somewhere else,� said Schneider. “His grandmother consented to a search of her house (by Akron police), and they found 15 other weapons of different kinds.�
Having those guns in the house breaks no laws, but one of the guns found there may be modified to the extent that it’s illegal to possess under Ohio law, Schneider said. “Certain weapons when modified become what they call ‘dangerous ordnance,’ like guns with silencers or sawed-off shotguns,� he said. “It’s a crime to have a dangerous-ordnance gun. I’ve heard one of the weapons was confiscated and they’re checking with government firearms experts.� Schneider said the concealed carry charge stems from where an assault rifle was found in Walker’s car, not the fact that the guns were in the car. “It was unloaded but was in a box with a magazine right next to it, accessible to the driver,� he said. “It could have been accessed, loaded and used without the driver leaving the driver’s seat, and that’s the violation. To be legal, it would have needed to be stored somewhere inaccessible, like a trunk, where the driver would have to stop operating the vehicle to get to it.�
According to a report by campus police Officer Kelly Travaglio, the guns were found while Walker’s car was parked in front of the Alpha Tau Omega house, 211 Fourth St., where he lived. Travaglio said a parking enforcement officer spotted what looked like the barrel of a shotgun in the Jeep Wrangler “in plain view.� When contacted, Walker admitted to having several guns in the car and gave campus police Chief Howard Korn the key and consented to a search of his vehicle, the report says. The other guns found were in cases. College officials have previously declined to comment on reports that Walker had also been investigated for weapons possession in the fall, but Travaglio’s report does mention previous contact, noting that Walker had been “told in previous dealings by Chief Korn not to have any firearms on Marietta College property (because) it was against college policy.�
Marietta College freshman Ben Williams, 19, said news of additional weapons was unnerving but he was trying not to jump to conclusions. “I think the initial reaction here was fear and people are still a little nervous,� he said. “But as far as we know, he didn’t do anything violent, so I’m trying to just wait until everything comes out. I’ve heard people who’ve said he was weird and people that really liked him, so I don’t really know what to think. But I think the shock is wearing off here and people are calming down.�

Sheriff: Student a gun enthusiast
Guns in MC student’s car because he was moving them to new storage area
By Brad Bauer, bbauer@mariettatimes.com
POSTED: February 8, 2008

Ohio Revised Code (2923.16) on handling or transporting firearms in a motor vehicle:
(A) No person shall knowingly discharge a firearm while in or on a motor vehicle.
(B) No person shall knowingly transport or have a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle in such a manner that the firearm is accessible to the operator or any passenger without leaving the vehicle.
(C) No person shall knowingly transport or have a firearm in a motor vehicle, unless it is unloaded and is carried in one of the following ways:
(1) In a closed package, box, or case;
(2) In a compartment that can be reached only by leaving the vehicle;
(3) In plain sight and secured in a rack or holder made for the purpose;
(4) In plain sight with the action open or the weapon stripped, or, if the firearm is of a type on which the action will not stay open or which cannot easily be stripped, in plain sight.
(D) No person shall knowingly transport or have a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle if, at the time of that transportation or possession, any of the following applies:
(1) The person is under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them.

Ohio Revised Code (2923.12) on concealed carry:
(A) No person shall knowingly carry or have, concealed on the person’s person or concealed ready any handgun or dangerous ordnance.
(Exceptions are police officers or concealed-carry permit holders.)

* Although not specifically spelled out in the law, guns and ammunition should be transported in separate, locked compartments of the vehicle. The most recent case law dictates that some guns are considered loaded if they are transported in the passenger compartment of the vehicle with ammunition – even if the gun is technically unloaded. It means ammunition should be kept in separate compartments.
Source: Ohio Revised Code and Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Police said Thursday there is no evidence of a “sinister plot� surrounding a Marietta College student charged this week after guns and ammunition were found in his vehicle on campus. Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks said student Robert L. Walker II, 22, is continuing to cooperate with detectives and that he shed some light on why the guns were in his vehicle. “He basically was having a storage and transportation problem,� Mincks said. “He told us he was keeping (the guns) at a friend’s residence. The friend became concerned about some break-ins in his neighborhood so (Walker) gathered the guns and ammunition and was going to transport them to his grandmother’s home (in Summit County) at his next opportunity.�
Investigators said the guns – a rifle, shotgun, handgun and parts to another rifle – were in the vehicle for about a week before a campus parking enforcement officer noticed them in Walker’s Jeep, which was parked in a college lot at the rear of 211 Fourth St. “He left the guns in his vehicle and as far as we’ve been able to determine there is nothing sinister, no sinister plot. He appears to be a gun enthusiast, and I have no reason not to believe him,� Mincks said. Still, Walker was charged Wednesday with a fourth-degree felony concealed carry violation and he remains suspended from the college campus.
Washington County Prosecutor Jim Schneider said Walker would not have been charged if he had a concealed-carry permit, although he still would have been in violation of campus policy. Schneider said the criminal charges were brought because the guns were improperly stored in the vehicle. He said guns and ammunition cannot be readily accessible to the driver. In most instances, Schneider said, guns and ammunition need to be stored in separate compartments of a vehicle for legal transport. He said he is going to argue there are no separate compartments in a Jeep and that the gun was “concealed at the ready� because it was stored within the reach of the driver’s seat with ammunition.
“I know we are splitting fine lines and hairs, for sure. But it doesn’t mean a crime didn’t happen,� Schneider said. He said the best option is to let a jury decide the case. Marietta resident Philip Shiflett, 54, said he is bothered by the charges being filed. Shiflett is a Fort Harmar Gun Club executive committee member and an NRA-certified shooting instructor. “In this case, it really sounds like a stretch,� Shiflett said, adding too many people are quick to pass judgment about gun collectors. “I don’t know anything about this young man. Maybe he has problems, and if he does, something should be done to help him get a handle on that,� Shiflett said. “But I think the bigger problem is that there are too many people who aren’t gun collectors and who think that if you want a gun, one should be enough.� Shiflett said it would not be uncommon for him or other club members to have several guns and several thousand rounds of ammunition in their own vehicles.
Local attorney and gun enthusiast Bill Burton said he is concerned by the actions taken this week against Walker. “This seems like it is a tremendous over-reaction. This week I’ve seen prayers on campus and kids afraid to go on campus,� Burton said. “If he violated a campus gun policy, I’m not opposed to the college putting him through their standards. But as a Marietta College graduate, I’m offended that they would ban him from the school so quickly. It doesn’t sound like he had due process. It seems the college and the students think that if you have guns, you are inherently dangerous. But there are those of us who carry guns and who are not dangerous.�
At a meeting between college administrators and more than 150 students Monday night, some students expressed concern over Walker’s behavior prior to the discovery of the guns. They discussed an incident in which he brought a bullet to class and a reference on his MySpace blog to his willingness to fight some students. Mincks said Summit County sheriff’s officials are still examining one gun collected Wednesday from Walker’s grandmother’s residence. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office requested the search of the home after an interview with Walker. The student authorized the search, in which 15 guns were taken, Mincks said. The gun in question is suspected of being fully automatic, which would make it illegal to possess unless a federal permit was issued.