VA - Boy, 6, in custody after shooting teacher, Newport News, Jan 2023 *mom charged* #3

[PrairieWind]

Oh, I'm sure they'll settle eventually rather than see all their dirty laundry aired, but I hope she has a savvy lawyer that makes sure she gets every penny she can.

MOO

I agree, most likely the school district will try to settle this ASAP to prevent much discovery. HOWEVER, that may not necessarily be the case. Presumably the school board would have to sign off on that. And it could be that there are some on the Board that very well may want to see exactly what all went on here and what they have been kept in the dark about. I don't think that is likely, but could happen. It seems clear that is a very poorly managed school district, so we will see what happens.

 

[arielilane]

"We are eager to continue our pursuit of accountability and a just, fair recovery," they said. "No teacher expects to stare down the barrel of a gun held by a six-year-old student."

Zwerner no longer works for the school system. A tentative trial date for her lawsuit is scheduled for January 2025.

The school board's attorneys indicated that they would appeal Friday's decision and said in a statement that they "fully anticipate its reversal by the appellate court."

The school board maintained that Zwerner's injuries were directly related to her job and therefore covered under workers' compensation.


https://www.npr.org/2023/11/04/1210...-year-old-can-proceed-with-40-million-lawsuit

November 4, 20233:59 AM ET

 

[Cool Cats]

$40M lawsuit filed by Virginia teacher who was shot by 6-year-old student can move forward, judge rules

The $40 million lawsuit filed by Newport News teacher Abigail Zwerner against the school board and administrators after she was shot by a 6-year-old student in a classroom earlier this year can move forward, a Virginia judge ruled Friday.

news.yahoo.com

The school board then moved to dismiss the suit, arguing that the 25-year-old’s injuries “fall under the exclusive coverage of Virginia’s Workers’ Compensation Act,” CNN previously reported.

On Friday, Newport News Circuit Court Judge Matthew Hoffman disagreed with the school board, stating since Zwerner’s injuries “did not arise out of her employment” it doesn’t “fall within the exclusive provisions of workers’ compensation coverage.”

“The danger of being shot by a student is not one that is peculiar or unique to the job of a first-grade teacher in a class,” Hoffman said.

 

[NeverPersonal]

the school is behaving terribly here. i am shocked by the combined behavior of the shooter, his mom, the judge, and school board. wtf is everyone smoking in newport?

 

[Cool Cats]

the school is behaving terribly here. i am shocked by the combined behavior of the shooter, his mom, the judge, and school board. wtf is everyone smoking in newport?

What happened with the judge?

 

[NeverPersonal]

What happened with the judge?

keeps letting mom off despite continued drug use & lack of remorse

 

[mickey2942]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/04/us/newport-news-virginia-teacher-shooting-lawsuit/index.html

Lawsuit moves forward.

 

[ifindedout]

Sentencing for DT's marijuana use while owning a firearm is scheduled for today.

Mother of 6-year-old boy who shot teacher gets 21 months for marijuana use while owning a gun

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — The mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher in Virginia was sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in prison for using marijuana while owning a firearm, which is illegal …

ktla.com

[...]
Prosecutors said they will seek a 21-month prison sentence.

“This case is not a marijuana case,” they wrote. “It is a case that underscores the inherently dangerous nature and circumstances that arise from the caustic cocktail of mixing consistent and prolonged controlled substance use with a lethal firearm.”

Taylor agreed in June to a negotiated guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Newport News in the state’s southeast coastal region. She has been convicted of using marijuana while owning a gun as well as lying about her drug use on a federal form when she bought the gun.

Taylor’s attorneys said they will ask for probation and home confinement, according to court filings. They argued Taylor needs counseling for issues that include schizoaffective disorder, a condition that shares symptoms with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

ETA: this is separate from her sentencing for child neglect, scheduled for December.

 

[sds71]

Deja Taylor, 26, of Newport News, pleaded guilty in federal court here in June to one count of possessing a firearm while being a drug user and one count of lying on a background check about her marijuana use while purchasing the handgun that her son used to open fire on first-grade teacher Abigail Zwerner.

A prosecutor with the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia revealed new details about the case in a sentencing memorandum. Lisa R. McKeel wrote that Jan. 6 was not the first time Deja Taylor’s gun had been fired in public.

Prosecutors cited a series of text messages between Taylor and the boy’s father, which appear to show that Taylor opened fire on him with the same weapon about a month before the shooting at Richneck Elementary, according to the filing.

McKeel also wrote in the memo that Taylor’s son had twice taken her car keys from her purse and gotten into her car. On one occasion, he crashed the vehicle, and on the other he refused to leave, according to the memo. Police had to break a window to get him out.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/11/15/teacher-shot-first-grader-victim-impact/

 

[mickey2942]

I think that this sentence is interesting. I have been watching the "Hunter Biden" case, accused of basically the same charges.

Hunter Biden indicted on federal gun charges

The president's son was indicted after a plea agreement on tax and gun charges fell apart in July and as House Republicans investigate his finances.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Simply Southern]

Mom of 6-year-old Richneck Elementary shooter sentenced to nearly 2 years on federal gun charges

Deja Taylor pleaded guilty to the charges in June. She was convicted of using marijuana while owning a gun as well as lying about her drug use on a federal form.

www.13newsnow.com

Deja Taylor was sentenced Wednesday to nearly two years on federal gun charges relating to the day that her son used her gun to shoot his teacher.
Her sentence is 21 months in federal prison, the recommended sentencing offered by prosecutors.

 

[Simply Southern]

Mother of 6-year-old boy who shot teacher gets 21 months for marijuana use while owning a gun

Deja Taylor’s son took her handgun to school and shot Abby Zwerner in her first-grade classroom in January, seriously wounding the educator.

www.nbc12.com

...
Deja Taylor’s son took her handgun to school and shot Abby Zwerner in her first-grade classroom in January, seriously wounding the educator. Investigators later found nearly an ounce of marijuana in Taylor’s bedroom and evidence of frequent drug use in her text messages and paraphernalia.

Taylor, 26, still faces a separate sentencing in December on the state level for felony child neglect. And Zwerner is suing the school system for $40 million, alleging that administrators ignored multiple warnings the boy had a gun.

U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis handed down the exact punishment that federal prosecutors had requested.
“This case cries out for a sentence of imprisonment,” the judge said, citing Taylor’s “dereliction of duty and responsibility” as a parent.
Davis said there was a “direct line” between the physical, emotional and psychological wounds that Zwerner has endured and Taylor’s decision to mix heavy marijuana use with owning a gun. The judge said Taylor’s son would never have obtained the weapon if his mother had obeyed the law.
“It’s just a travesty that (Zwerner) has had to suffer in that way,” Davis said
.....
Davis added that the classroom shooting has had lifelong impacts on the other students who were in Zwerner’s classroom: “Those are children that are going to grow up in this community … dealing with that for the rest of their lives.”

Zwerner read aloud an impact statement at Taylor’s sentencing hearing, describing the shooting’s ongoing impact on her life. The bullet had struck her left hand and chest, sending her to the hospital for nearly two weeks.

Zwerner said she has endured five surgeries just to try to return motion to her left hand. She said wounds and stitches prevented her from showering and going to the gym.

 

[Simply Southern]

Taylor initially told investigators she had secured her gun with a trigger lock, but investigators never found one.
Taylor’s son told authorities he obtained the gun by climbing onto a drawer to reach the top of a dresser, where the firearm was in his mom’s purse. Taylor initially told investigators she had secured her gun with a trigger lock, but investigators never found one.
...
Immediately after the shooting, the child told a reading specialist who restrained him: “I shot that (expletive) dead,” and “I got my mom’s gun last night,” according to search warrants
....
It was not the first time Taylor’s gun was fired in public, prosecutors wrote. Taylor shot at her son’s father in December after seeing him with his girlfriend.

Sometime after her son shot his teacher, Taylor smoked two blunts, prosecutors added. She also failed drug tests while awaiting sentencing on the federal charges.

Mother of 6-year-old boy who shot teacher gets 21 months for marijuana use while owning a gun

Deja Taylor’s son took her handgun to school and shot Abby Zwerner in her first-grade classroom in January, seriously wounding the educator.

www.nbc12.com

 

[shotgun09]

Thanks for all the updates everyone!
No comment from Ellenson yet?
He of the " The gun was secure" statement?
Well......we're waiting......

 

[x_files]

Taylor initially told investigators she had secured her gun with a trigger lock, but investigators never found one.
Taylor’s son told authorities he obtained the gun by climbing onto a drawer to reach the top of a dresser, where the firearm was in his mom’s purse. Taylor initially told investigators she had secured her gun with a trigger lock, but investigators never found one.
...
Immediately after the shooting, the child told a reading specialist who restrained him: “I shot that (expletive) dead,” and “I got my mom’s gun last night,” according to search warrants
....
It was not the first time Taylor’s gun was fired in public, prosecutors wrote. Taylor shot at her son’s father in December after seeing him with his girlfriend.

Sometime after her son shot his teacher, Taylor smoked two blunts, prosecutors added. She also failed drug tests while awaiting sentencing on the federal charges.

Mother of 6-year-old boy who shot teacher gets 21 months for marijuana use while owning a gun

Deja Taylor’s son took her handgun to school and shot Abby Zwerner in her first-grade classroom in January, seriously wounding the educator.

www.nbc12.com

Wait, what?!!!

"It was not the first time Taylor’s gun was fired in public, prosecutors wrote. Taylor shot at her son’s father in December after seeing him with his girlfriend."

Her son witnessed this? or overheard her talking about the new girlfriend?
Wow, this is a huge RED FLAG. She is dangerous!
She looks defiant, not remorseful in all her photos.

 

[Simply Southern]

Much more detailed in this article

Mother of 6-year-old school shooter sentenced to 21 months in prison

Deja Taylor is sentenced to 21 months in prison after appearing in court at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

www.wavy.com

....
She was booked into the Western Tidewater Regional Jail Wednesday night.

Deja Taylor (Photo provided by WTRJ)
....
“This was a monstrous event,” Zwerner read from her statement. “I lost myself. I can’t teach again. I’ve lost my purpose. I love children, but now I’m afraid of a career with them.”

Zwerner says she has anxiety, PTSD and depression. “I will fear forever crowded places and people with hands in their pockets” thinking they may be hiding a gun.

“I have nightmares that involve gore, blood and death from shootings. I dream of a day gone wrong where I am warning others about a shooting."
...
An ATF investigator testified that law enforcement knowledge of Taylor’s connection with marijuana began two years before the Richneck shooting. During a Williamsburg traffic stop, police noticed marijuana edibles, a strong smell of marijuana in the car and other narcotics, and the boy was inside, then only 4 years old.
...
According to testimony, Taylor used that gun to shoot at the boy’s father Malik Ellison in late December 2022, less than two weeks before her son used it to shoot Zwerner.

Taylor believed Ellison was cheating on her, and allegedly saw Ellison and the other woman in a rented U-Haul when she fired.
....
“The bullet is above my head,” Ellison texted to Taylor.

“I was aiming at the ho,” Taylor texted back. “You literally almost killed me,” Ellison responded.

 

[Simply Southern]

Abby Zwerner, teacher shot by 6-year-old boy, speaks out in Deja Taylor sentencing hearing

Abby Zwerner, who was teaching at Richneck Elementary when she was shot by her first-grade student, made her statement during the sentencing for the child's mother.

www.13newsnow.com

...
"When this happened and emergency responders worked to keep me alive, I was not sure whether it would be my final moment on earth," Zwerner said. "I’ve undergone five surgeries, and regular, intensive physical therapy appointments to restore motion in my hand."
...
"This permanent damage should never have been allowed to happen to me and would not have happened if not for the defendant’s actions or lack thereof," Zwerner said.

 

[jjonez]

“Calvin Taylor has had legal custody of the boy, now 7, since shortly after the January school shooting. He says the boy is doing much better now and was even recently named student of the week.”

“Mr. Taylor says the gun was kept on a closet shelf in his home, and said the boy was able to use a stool to reach it. Although Child Protective Services called for his granddaughter to keep the gun in a locked box, the ATF investigator said the gun was never placed in it.”

Mother of 6-year-old school shooter sentenced to 21 months in prison

Deja Taylor is sentenced to 21 months in prison after appearing in court at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

www.wavy.com

 

[jjonez]

“Taylor also pleaded guilty to state charges of child neglect. She has a court hearing in December on the state charges. Her sentence on that state charge, expected to be about six months, will be added to the 21 months of federal prison.”

Mother of 6-year-old school shooter sentenced to 21 months in prison

Deja Taylor is sentenced to 21 months in prison after appearing in court at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

www.wavy.com

 

[x_files]

Much more detailed in this article

Mother of 6-year-old school shooter sentenced to 21 months in prison

Deja Taylor is sentenced to 21 months in prison after appearing in court at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

www.wavy.com

....
She was booked into the Western Tidewater Regional Jail Wednesday night.

Deja Taylor (Photo provided by WTRJ)
....
“This was a monstrous event,” Zwerner read from her statement. “I lost myself. I can’t teach again. I’ve lost my purpose. I love children, but now I’m afraid of a career with them.”

Zwerner says she has anxiety, PTSD and depression. “I will fear forever crowded places and people with hands in their pockets” thinking they may be hiding a gun.

“I have nightmares that involve gore, blood and death from shootings. I dream of a day gone wrong where I am warning others about a shooting."
...
An ATF investigator testified that law enforcement knowledge of Taylor’s connection with marijuana began two years before the Richneck shooting. During a Williamsburg traffic stop, police noticed marijuana edibles, a strong smell of marijuana in the car and other narcotics, and the boy was inside, then only 4 years old.
...
According to testimony, Taylor used that gun to shoot at the boy’s father Malik Ellison in late December 2022, less than two weeks before her son used it to shoot Zwerner.

Taylor believed Ellison was cheating on her, and allegedly saw Ellison and the other woman in a rented U-Haul when she fired.
....
“The bullet is above my head,” Ellison texted to Taylor.

“I was aiming at the ho,” Taylor texted back. “You literally almost killed me,” Ellison responded.

Why wasn't she ARRESTED and put in PRISON then? For trying to shoot her ex's new gf? WTH...