GLOUCESTER, Va. — Four people are facing charges for bringing firearms to a Gloucester County School Board meeting this week, the sheriff's office.
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Reported armed person at Gloucester Co. School Board meeting
It all stems from the July 11 board meeting.
The sheriff's office said a deputy providing security saw five men go into the auditorium at the Thomas Calhoun Walker Education Center. The group's members sat apart from each other.
The deputy saw one of the five, Trevor Herrin, had a knife attached to the back of his belt in a "scout carry" position, the sheriff's office said. It gives the wearer easier access to withdraw the knife.
During the citizen comment portion of the meeting, the sheriff's office said Herrin went up to the podium and spoke, alleging his vehicle was vandalized during the previous board session.
Herrin stated that he '"would strongly recommend caution and reflection before engaging in anything like that, especially with someone you don’t know, with capabilities you don’t know'," the sheriff's office said in a release.
The sheriff's office said Herrin later told law enforcement the vandalism was an attack.
After checking security camera footage, investigators said there was no evidence that someone vandalized Herrin's vehicle. The sheriff's office noted Herrin did not immediately file a crime report.
"When Mr. Herrin finished speaking and began to leave the podium, the deputy observed the grip of a pistol on the right side of Mr. Herrin’s body, which he previously was unable to see due to the positioning of the weapon and the shirt the male was wearing hanging below his belt line (concealed)," the sheriff's office press release said. "The pistol was only visible as the male left the podium due to his body movements that raised the height of his shirt tail above his beltline briefly."
As the group was leaving the building, additional deputies met them in the parking lot. It was learned four of the five were possessing concealed firearms.
Herrin, 28, of Williamsburg, Derek Coblentz, 32, of Prospect; Christopher Cordasco, 26, of Williamsburg; and Antonio Hernandez, 27, of Fisherville, were charged with carrying a firearm on school property, the sheriff's office said.
The sheriff's office said Herrin was the only one in the group that did not possess valid concealed handgun permits.
A fifth person in the group is currently not being charged, the sheriff's office said.
