SOUTH LYON, Mich. (WWJ) -- A 17-year-old student has been given a $25,000 personal bond after being arraigned on charges he brought a knife to school.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office says South Lyon High School student Ethan James Smith admits he brought a knife to school on Monday to protect himself after he had been threatened by another student last Friday.
The 11th-grader was arraigned Tuesday in 52-1 District Court in Novi, charged with misdemeanor possession of a weapon in a weapon free-school zone.
Smith received the $25,000 personal bond and was ordered to stay away from the student who allegedly threatened him. He was also told not to use drugs or alcohol and is ordered to stay away from school until after his next court date, set for Feb. 20.
Officials with the sheriff's office say a deputy who is assigned as a school resource officer at South Lyon was notified by the school's assistant principal on Friday morning that a student may have brought a weapon to the school.The assistant principal was tipped off by a youth assistance caseworker.
Smith admitted to both the assistant principal and the caseworker that he had brought the knife as protection. He claimed he had been threatened, but officials did not disclose any information about the threat or the other student. The sheriff's office says Smith hid the knife inside a classroom.
The school resource officer was able to locate and recover the knife from the classroom.
Smith was then arrested and taken to the Oakland County Jail, where he was lodged before the arraignment.
