Two Students Bring Handgun to Lakewood High
By Debbie Wolfe
He celebrated his 16th birthday on Saturday, December 9 and on Monday morning, December 11, he wielded a handgun inside his high school and published a Snapchat video of himself on social media as proof.
Anthony Comeau and his classmate Kervin Reyes, both 16 and students at Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg, were placed into custody Monday. Each teenager is charged with two felonies relating to possession of a weapon on a school campus and aggravated assault, said Samantha Williams, a spokesperson for the St. Petersburg Police Department.
At 9:37 a.m. on Monday, the school notified police about a weapon on campus. According to a police report, several students on campus had alerted the school resource officer that a Snapchat video showed one teen waving a handgun and pointing it at the camera.
The school was placed on lockdown while police responded. During the investigation, “officers became aware that a group of students had left campus,” police records show.
While searching an off-campus area, police found the handgun in a backpack inside a dumpster, said Williams.
ABC Action News reported the police said that by noon, the school was open again and parents were allowed to pick up their children.
At 4:44 p.m., police announced they had located all of the students involved and had charged two with felonies.
In a News Channel 8 video, band class student Tiffany Bertran said, “We all ducked behind the marimbas. Then, we heard something outside the band room door and we didn’t know what to do so we hid inside the brass [instruments] closets.”
At the school on Monday, Santra Bentil, a spokesperson for the St. Petersburg Police Department said, “We are very grateful for the students and the relationships” they have built with “our school resource officers and that they feel comfortable enough to go to them with information immediately.”
According to Tampa Bay Online, a message sent to families by principal Erin Savage said, “I want to remind our school community that weapons are not tolerated on Lakewood’s campus. We appreciate any time a student, parent or community member comes forward with information on potentially dangerous situations. Please help us in preventing weapons from coming onto our campus.”
After the incident, one teacher posted on Facebook on Monday, “I started out this day spending an hour and 40 minutes sitting silently in the dark with my 4th period class in lockdown mode because some kid had brought a gun to my school.”
The investigation continues.
A sampling of police reports from November 30 through December 9 in Gulfport and St. Pete Beach.
Sources: Gulfport Police Department and Pinellas County Crime Viewer
Gulfport
11/30 – Theft in the 1500 block of 54th Street South. Gulfport Public Works notified the police department that a resident who had his water service turned off for non-payment had broken the tamper-evident seal on the meter and turned the water back on. When utility workers removed the meter altogether, the resident installed PVC pipe to bypass it and steal more water. Police arrested the resident, Scott Williams for grand theft. Williams stole nearly $1,000 worth of water without paying for it.
11/30 – Animal call in the 5700 block of Gulfport Boulevard South. Police officers rescued a tortoise that was approximately two feet in length. It was blocking the exit to Walgreens. It was later found to be a pet that had escaped the backyard of a residence in the area. The owner of the tortoise was located and it was returned to him.
12/1 – Robbery in the 2000 block of 52nd Street South. When a woman entered Gulfport Elementary School to walk her child in for class, she found her ex-boyfriend waiting for her at her car when she returned to the parking lot. The man attacked and physically beat her until she dropped her cell phone, at which time he stole it and fled the area. The suspect was identified and is being sought for strong-armed robbery.
12/1 – Retail theft in the 5000 block of Gulfport Boulevard South. A juvenile female placed several items of merchandise in her purse at the Family Dollar but only paid for two drinks that she brought to the counter. When she exited the store with the stolen items, she was caught by police officers outside. The juvenile was arrested but released to her father in lieu of incarceration. The retail theft charge was referred to the juvenile court.
12/1 – Fraud in the 5400 block of 20th Avenue South. A resident reported that a check was fraudulently cashed against his bank account for several hundred dollars at a Publix Supermarket. The investigating officer contacted corporate loss prevention to request the video of the suspect cashing the check.
12/2 – Hit and run in the 1800 block of 49th Street South. Officers responded to a traffic crash. A vehicle traveling southbound on 49th Street struck another vehicle. The striking vehicle continued south on 49th Street and struck the fire hydrant in front of Wells Fargo. The occupants of the vehicle then fled from the vehicle. The driver of the other vehicle was transported to Bayfront Medical Center and later cleared with no injuries. Officers recovered a wallet belonging to one of the occupants of the suspect vehicle. Officer Clague spoke to the owner of the vehicle to identify who was driving at the time of the crash. The driver then came to the Gulfport Police Department and admitted she had been driving the car. Stephanie Hubbard was cited and given a court date for leaving the scene of an accident with property damage.
12/2 – Baker act in the 5600 block of Shore Boulevard. Officers responded to an armed person call. The call notes indicated a female was walking westbound on Shore Boulevard with a gun to her head threatening suicide. Officers were able to disarm the woman and determined that the gun was a pellet gun. The female was taken into custody and transported to St. Anthony’s Hospital.
12/2 – Burglary to a vehicle in progress in the 2500 block of 59th Street South. Officer Kellington responded to a vehicle burglary. The owner of the vehicle reported someone in his vehicle that he did not know. Jamal Parker was taken into custody and advised he was just looking for spare change.
12/3 – Theft in the 3100 block of Dupont Street. A resident discovered $1,400 had been stolen from her wallet. She suspects that her roommate stole the money because when she woke up he was gone and had taken his stuff with him.
12/3 – Overdose in the 2600 block of 48th Street South. Officers responded to a residence regarding a male that had possibly overdosed on narcotics. The girlfriend advised that they were both recovering drug users. She found a spoon and needle cap but no needle. The male was transported to the hospital for medical attention.
12-5 – Overdose in the 5500 block of 27th Avenue South. A juvenile female returned home from a party at 5 a.m. She was in a hysterical state and could not be controlled by her parents so they called 911. The teen was determined to have overdosed on an unknown drug and was transported to the hospital. A police report was generated to document the incident but no criminal charges were filed.
12-5 – Stolen vehicle in the 6100 block of 12th Avenue South. A resident reported that his vehicle was stolen from his driveway overnight after having lost a set of keys for it approximately one month prior.
12-5 – Retail theft in the 5000 block of Gulfport Boulevard South. A juvenile male stuffed a bottle of cough syrup into his pants at the Family Dollar but only paid for a bag of chips he brought to the counter. When he exited the store with the stolen item, he was caught by police officers across the street and arrested.
12-5 – Criminal mischief in the 5100 block of Gulfport Boulevard South. An employee of a store called to report that a white male was caught on video ripping down Christmas lights on December 3 at 3:20 a.m. The suspect has not been identified yet.
12-5 – Driving under the influence causing a crash in the 2600 block of Beach Boulevard. Justin Scott was driving on Beach Boulevard when he struck a parked car. He appeared to be intoxicated. After a DUI investigation was conducted, he was arrested. He refused to provide a breath sample.
Battery
12/1, 5:15 p.m., 1000 block of 49th Street S
12/2, midnight, 1400 block of 59th Street S
Burglary – residence
12/7, 3:34 p.m., 2200 block of 53rd Street S
Burglary – vehicle
12/2, 2:34 a.m., 2500 block of 59th Street S
12/2, 10 p.m., 5000 block of Jersey Avenue S
Robbery – armed
12/5, 11:30 a.m., 1500 block of 51st Street S
Robbery – unarmed
11/30, 8:40 a.m., 2000 block of 52nd Street S
Shoplifting
11/30, 10:25 a.m., 5000 block of Gulfport Boulevard S
12/4, 2:30 p.m., 5000 block of Gulfport Boulevard S
Theft – grand
12/2, 10 p.m., 3100 block of Dupont Street S
Theft – petit
11/30, 7:19 p.m., 1500 block of 54th Street S
12/3, 9 a.m., 5600 block of Tangerine Avenue S
12/6, 9:55 p.m., 5400 block of 12th Avenue S
12/8, 4:10 p.m., 5700 block of Shore Boulevard S
Theft – vehicle
12/4, 8 p.m., 6100 block of 12th Avenue S
Trespassing
12/5, 1:20 p.m., 5000 block of Gulfport Boulevard S
12/9, 4:50 p.m., 2000 block of 52ne Street S
12/9, 8 p.m., 5000 block of 9th Avenue S
Vandalism – criminal mischief
12/4, 3:20 a.m., 5100 block of Gulfport Boulevard S
12/4, 6 p.m., 5700 block of 11th Avenue S
12/8, unknown time, 1700 block of 53rd Street S
12/9, 2:52 a.m., 5100 block of Gulfport Boulevard S
South Pasadena
Burglary – vehicle
12/3, noon, 6800 block of Park Street S
Shoplifting
12/4, 7:45 p.m., 6800 block of Gulfport Boulevard S
Theft – petit
12/3, 3:12 p.m., 6800 block of Gulfport Boulevard S
Vandalism – criminal mischief
12/5, 9 a.m., 1300 block of Pasadena Avenue S
St. Pete Beach
Alarm
12/1, 6:04 p.m., 300 block of South Tessier Drive
Battery
12/7, 7:41 p.m., 6200 block of Gulf Boulevard
Battery – aggravated
12/1, 6:56 p.m., 6300 block of Gulf Boulevard
Burglary – residence
11/30, 1:30 a.m., 7500 block of Coquina Way
Burglary — structure
12/8, 5 a.m., 6800 block of Gulf Boulevard
Burglary – vehicle
12/3, 2 p.m., 100 block of 43rd Avenue
Shoplifting
Theft – grand
12/5, noon, 8000 block of Sailboat Key Boulevard
12/7, 10:50 p.m., 6300 block of 2nd Palm Point Street
Theft – petit
12/7, 11:49 p.m., 7700 block of Blind Pass Road
Trespassing
12/4, 5:43 p.m., 600 block of Corey Avenue
Vandalism – criminal mischief
11/30, 8 p.m., 5200 block of Gulf Boulevard
12/2, 3:50 p.m., 5500 block of Gulf Boulevard
12/3, 7:45 a.m., 200 block of Corey Avenue
