Father of accused shooter sentenced to federal prison

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A man whose son is charged with firing an assault rifle at his middle school was sentenced Friday to 18 months in federal prison, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Greg Lynn White of Joplin pleaded guilty in December to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Authorities say he was found to have several guns and ammunition, including the rifle his son is accused of firing at Memorial Middle School in Joplin in October.

White's 14-year-old son, Thomas White, is charged as an adult with two counts of first-degree assault and one count each of unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action.

He is accused of firing a shot at the middle school ceiling and pointing the gun at school administrators. No one was injured.

The teen has pleaded not guilty to these charges, as well as ones accusing him of trying to escape from the Joplin juvenile detention center two days after the shooting.

In March, a Jasper County Circuit judge ruled there was enough evidence to back up the charges against the teen. According to testimony in a hearing before the ruling, administrators repeatedly told the teen to put the rifle down and leave school. He eventually did, they said, but not without making a motion toward the principal in which he looked like he might shoot.

Police later said the rifle jammed.

The teen, who was 13 at the time of the incident, is one of the youngest offenders ever to be certified as an adult in the state. Two 14-year-old girls and a 13-year-old girl from St. Louis were tried as adults in a 2004-2005 murder case.

Although he is charged as an adult, Thomas White would face a blended sentence if convicted. This means he would receive a juvenile sentence, but would be given an adult sentence instead if he violated the juvenile terms.

His trial is set for August, according to court records.