OVHS student arrested

An 18-year-old Owen Valley High School student was arrested May 13 after authorities discovered a handgun in his vehicle parked in the student parking lot.

Jordan A. Barley of Spencer is charged with two felony counts of possession of a firearm on school property.

An initial hearing in the case was held May 15 in the Owen County Circuit Court where Barley appeared in person and the court entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Barley is being represented by attorney Tanner Shapiro.

According to an Owen County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) news release, on the morning of Tuesday, May 13, School Resource Officers (SRO) were "made aware of a social media post indicating Mr. Barley was on Owen Valley High School property and had a handgun tucked in his front waistline."

The photo had reportedly been posted to social media the previous day, May 12, with authorities noting the background of the photograph clearly indicated it had been taken on school grounds.

Officers responded by immediately removing Barley from his classroom and escorting him to the teacher's lounge where they began asking questions.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed in the case, once inside the teacher's lounge authorities showed Barley the photo that had been posted to social media and asked if he had an explanation for why he appeared to be in possession of a handgun on school grounds.

"According to Mr. Barley, he was given a handgun as a graduation gift from his uncle and forgot that it was tucked in his waist when the photograph was taken," OCSD Deputy and SRO William Browne reported in the affidavit.

Officers responded by reading Barley his Miranda rights, after which Deputy Browne noted he agreed to continue answering questions.

Since the photo was taken outside the school, authorities asked Barley why he appeared to be in possession of a firearm on school property.

Barley reportedly stated he "forgot he had it on his person when he returned to the student parking lot around 6 p.m. to assist a female student and her father with vehicle issues" on the evening of May 12.

When asked where the firearm was "located at the moment," Barley told authorities the gun was in his Chevrolet pickup in the student parking lot. The gun would be retrieved by the authorities, unloaded, along with a holster, a box of 9mm ammunition and two loaded magazines, one inside the truck's center console and another in a plastic bracket mounted under the steering wheel.

The vehicle was reportedly locked and parked properly in the lot, where authorities said they could "plainly see the handgun from the driver's side door window" upon arrival.

Authorities also interviewed the female student who took the photo and posted it to social media. The affidavit states she "did not know Mr. Barley was in possession of the handgun" and further advised she was the person who posted the photograph on social media with "no intent to cause Mr. Barley any trouble."

A male student shown in the photo was also interviewed by authorities, saying he knew Barley had the handgun "in his waistline and that he carried the handgun on his person frequently, but did not really think about it being on school grounds because it was after normal school hours."

Both students said they "never felt threatened or intimidated by Mr. Barley," according to the affidavit.

No threats were made to the safety of other students or staff.

"We are grateful to the student who brought this matter to our attention and commend the swift action of our School Resource Officers in helping to maintain the safety and security of our campus," Spencer-Owen Community Schools Superintendent Andy Cline said in a statement issued after the incident.

According to Owen County Prosecutor Benjamin Kim, a pretrial conference in the case is set for June 26 and a final pretrial conference for Sept. 5. A jury trial is slated to begin Oct. 14. The prosecutor issued a reminder that all persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.