Mother of expelled student comes forward to tell her side

by Carrie Moritz and Garrick Moritz, Gazette

            Sometimes, people can be caught unawares in a net and not know until it's too late. The lack of gray contained within the school board policy for weapons violation has caused plenty of consternation for the parents of the student expelled from Garretson High School last week.

            Joni Heggen, the student's mother, approached the Gazette, wishing to put her son's side into the public sphere, as the policy as applied caught her son in that net, she said.

            According to Joni, her son Juul Heggen was unaware that he had an airsoft pistol in his vehicle on the evening of August 29, until his friend called him and let him know that it was left in Juul's console and asked if he could come pick it up.

            "He got out of school, he went home and some friends of his from Brandon...asked if they could come out and shoot," Joni said. She pointed out that they have kids over all the time, and are usually supervised for these activities so they don't have an issue with it. Two friends came out, and after doing some target practice, the teenagers ran around on some errands. She said her son was unaware that his friend had put the pistol in Juul's truck, thinking the friend had placed it back into his own vehicle.

            The three youths then went to Garretson's volleyball game in two vehicles. According to Joni, the school's cameras showed them walking into the game, and three minutes later, the two friends left. Around 8:36 p.m., the friend called and alerted Juul to the situation, and told him he was going to come get it. The friends came back to the school, but camera footage was not available to show them walking back into the school, she said. However, Joni maintained that Juul never left the school, and did not approach his vehicle at any time until after the entire incident was over.

            The school's cameras show the two Brandon teens leaving the school a second time with three Garretson students, who were unable to be identified, according to Joni. The Brandon teens pulled the airsoft pistol out of the vehicle and showed it to the Garretson students. The incident was witnessed and reported to administration, who opted not to call a lockdown as the game finished up.

            "Some kids seen it, took and ran to the school, reported it," Joni said. "The sheriff got called. Juul's still sitting in the school, hasn't even come out yet. He had heard through the school that somebody in the parking lot has a gun. Juul didn't even put the connection together.

            "So as he's coming home, somebody called and said, 'Juul, they took this out of your pickup."

            The next morning, Minnehaha Sheriff's Department deputies pulled him over in the school parking lot.

            Joni continued, "They take him, pull him over with guns loaded. Juul stops, and he [the deputy] said, 'Do you know why I pulled you over?' He [Juul] says, 'Well, I'm assuming it's because of this airsoft gun.' He [the deputy] is like, 'Do you want me to arrest you? This is a serious situation. Empty your center console.'

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