Man pleads after son brings gun to Grand Rapids school

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A man whose son brought a loaded gun to a Grand Rapids elementary school last year has entered a plea agreement.

On Monday, the say day his trial was set to begin, 27-year-old Jaquon Tucker pleaded no contest to being a felon in possession of a firearm. In exchange for his plea, two other counts, including fourth-degree child abuse, were dismissed.

Tucker’s son, then an 8-year-old in third grade, brought the loaded gun to Stocking Elementary on May 10, 2023. Court documents show the boy told “several classmates” he had the gun and that he wanted to shoot another student. Another student reported the gun and the principal soon found it in the boy’s backpack. No one was hurt.

Tucker was arrested and charged in June 2023 after surrendering following an hourslong standoff in Grand Rapids. He will return to court Oct. 31 for sentencing.

The situation at Stocking was among four instances in which guns were found at Grand Rapids Public Schools buildings last year, prompting the district to ban backpacks for the remainder of the term. No one was hurt in any of the four cases.

Last week, a woman pleaded guilty to a gun charge in connection another of the gun incidents — in that case, a child brought an unloaded handgun to Cesar E. Chavez Elementary.

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