18-year-old to be tried in gun discharge case

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A judge has found sufficient evidence to try an 18-year-old on charges tied to the accidental discharge of a gun at a Springfield high school. The Springfield News-Leader reported Larvern Hale was bound over for arraignment at the conclusion of his preliminary hearing Friday. He is charged in Greene County with unlawful use of a weapon, delivery of a controlled substance and resisting arrest. Witnesses at the hearing testified that the loaded weapon moved undetected for about three hours last month through Central High School. The gun was in a backpack when it was dropped and discharged. No one else has been charged in the case, but police spokeswoman Lisa Cox says the investigation is ongoing. Hale was represented by a public defender.