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Authorities arrest two Hillsborough students on gun charges in separate incidents

 
Jamarcus Kareem Simms, 18, of Tampa was seen loading a gun on a school bus, deputies say.
[Photo courtesy of Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office]
Jamarcus Kareem Simms, 18, of Tampa was seen loading a gun on a school bus, deputies say. [Photo courtesy of Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office]
Published Feb. 11, 2016

SEFFNER — An 18-year-old alternative school student was arrested Wednesday morning after deputies learned he was seen loading a gun on a school bus, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Another student on the bus saw the teen, Jamarcus Kareem Simms of Tampa, with a gun in his lap and sent a text message to a relative, deputies said. That relative called 911 at 8:35 a.m. At that time, the bus was near Harney Road and U.S. 301, headed to Brandon Alternative School.

The student continued texting details of the situation to the relative, who relayed a description of Simms, where he was sitting (four seats behind the bus driver) and that he was trying to hide the gun.

Deputies intercepted the bus while it was on E Hillsborough Avenue, near Mango Road. Seven students were evacuated from the bus, where deputies found a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, a magazine loaded with 12 rounds and a black ski mask.

The Sheriff's Office said the gun had been stolen from Temple Terrace. The agency offered no explanation or motive as to why Simms had a gun and a ski mask and what he may have planned to do with them.

Simms has been arrested twice previously. In 2014, he was charged with burglary and grand theft and sent to a pretrial diversion program, according to state arrest records. In December 2015, he was charged with two counts of failing to appear in court, records show.

The Brandon Alternative School services about 100 students in the county who faced disciplinary action at their previous school, said district spokeswoman Tanya Arja. Students are typically there for six months to a year. Arja would not say when Simms started attending the school.

Simms, of 11314 52nd St. N, was arrested on charges of possession of a firearm on school property, carrying a concealed firearm and possession of marijuana. He was booked into the Orient Road Jail, where he was being held late Wednesday in lieu of $4,500 bail.

In another school incident involving firearms charges Wednesday, Tampa police said they found "weapons" in a student's car at Plant High School.

Officers were dispatched to the school at 2415 S Himes Ave. to investigate a "vague" threat against the school. Plant High was placed on lockdown while officers searched the campus. During their investigation, police said, officers saw a student in his car and found the weapons inside.

Stratton Patterson, 18, was arrested on two counts of possession of a firearm on school property. Police described him as an "avid hunter" and said his arrest was "unrelated" to the threat.

Patterson, of 203 Cooper Place S, was released from the county jail Wednesday afternoon after posting $4,000 bail.