Bethune-Cookman University Student Arrested For Bringing Firearm On Campus

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Daytona Beach, FL - A Bethune-Cookman University student was arrested on Sunday for bringing an AR-15 rifle on school property. Campus security responded to the parking lot outside of Lee Rhyant dormitories at Bethune-Cookman at around 11:33 PM on Sunday, according to police records. Security officers say they found an AR-15 rifle in the front passenger's seat of a white Dodge Challenger that was improperly parked. Police records say that the owner of the vehicle, 20-year-old Ronald Jacques Jr., arrived at the scene, and acknowledged that the vehicle was his and that he knew there was an AR-15 rifle in plain view in the front seat. There was video surveillance footage showing Jacques Jr. coming to and from the car. Daytona Beach police were notified. Sergeant Kelsey Harris, of the Daytona Beach Police Department, says that Jacques Jr. was legally allowed to own the firearm, but he was not legally allowed to bring it on school property. Jacques Jr. declined to speak with law enforcement after he was read his Miranda Rights. "We don't know how he obtained (the firearm), but it's not stolen, and he's not a convicted felon, so he can possess firearms at this point, but he brought it up on school property," says Harris. "The only other follow-up we'll possibly be doing is to track down where he purchased the firearm from," Harris adds. "There were no known threats or anything of that nature made from him." Jacques Jr. was taken into custody and charged with possession of a firearm on school property. He was held on $2,500 bond.

(Jacques Jr.'s mugshot courtesy Volusia County Jail)

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