Booking mug/courtesy photo. Peter L. Berry, 19, has been expelled from Bethune-Cookman University after a felony gun posession charge on campus.
DAYTONA BEACH -- A 19-year-old Bethune-Cookman University stident has been expelled after his arrest on a charge of felony possession of a firearm on campus. Peter L. Berry, of Ocala, turned himself in to Daytona Beach police yesterday, five days after a security guard spotted him dropping a semiautomatic pistol near the gate to Bronson Hall, according to police report.
The incident was also recorded on a surveillance camera.
A Bethune-Cookman security guard did not move in right away during last Thursday's alleged incident as explained in a statement on the campus Web site: "The officer did not immediately apprehend the student who was in possession of the weapon because the officer was not armed. Instead, campus security monitored the movements of the student, and when it was safe, isolated the student and took possession of the weapon. This was proper procedure for an unarmed security officer."
Berry told police he was trying to hide the gun in his dorm room for a friend he identified only as "Dwayne," according to the police report. The university said Berry has since been expelled.
Bethune-Cookman officials contacted Daytona Beach police five hours after the incident occurred, prompting Police Chief Michael Chitwood to say he would have preferred being called immediately.