Arrests at Berkeley High Prom After Gun Discovery

A Berkeley High School student and her date to the school’s prom were arrested Saturday after attempting to bring a loaded gun into the school’s senior prom, police officials said.

Kyanna Roberson, 18, a student at Berkeley High, and her date Emmanuel Richardson, 20, of Oakland, were arrested on charges of posession of a loaded and concealed firearm and conspiracy, said Berkeley police Lt. Wesley Hester.

The prom was held last Saturday evening at the Merchants Exchange Building on California Street in San Francisco, he said.

According to district spokesperson Mark Coplan, 600 people attended the event, without any other serious problems.

Following normal procedure, school security staff were searching students’ bags and jackets for alcohol, Coplan said.

Hester said that according to police reports, Richardson said when he saw the searches, he handed the gun to Roberson so she would put it in her purse to avoid detection.

When the search uncovered the .25 caliber handgun, Berkeley police officers at the scene assisted in the arrest of Roberson, as did the San Francisco police officers, who were outside the event.

During the investigation, Richardson stepped forward to claim ownership of the weapon, Hester said.

Coplan said he is unable to comment on specific student cases, but said the district guideline for possession of a weapon is an expulsion process.

To bring a non-student to a dance, a form must be completed by the outside attendee, and their school principal if they are still in school, Coplan said.

Laura Menard, a parent of a Berkeley High student, said the regulations were more lax this year, with less emphasis on how non-student dates were approved.

“The whole thing is getting very disturbing to me,” Menard said. “I am starting to become very concerned about the safety at Berkeley High School.”

Richardson claimed he brought the gun to the event for protection, Hester said, based on a rivalry between Berkeley and Oakland students.

“But we haven’t confirmed that,” Hester said. “People say all kinds of things when they’re charged with stuff.”

Tags: