State police have filed charges against a Creekside woman connected with an incident at St. Bernard School in September where a student unknowingly brought a loaded handgun to school.
According to a news release from State Police, 23-year-old Riley Jayne Merlo is wanted on felony charges of theft by unlawful taking and causing or risking a catastrophe and misdemeanor counts of theft from a motor vehicle and reckless endangerment. State Police were called out to the St. Bernard School on September 17th for a report of a handgun being found in a student’s backpack. School officials say the 11-year-old student found a Ruger LCR .38 Special in his backpack after he got to school that morning. There were no reported threats and the student was cooperative with school officials and police. It was later determined that he did not know the gun was in his backpack. Police did say at the time that the gun was reported stolen on September 15th by the student’s guardian.
After further investigation and several interviews, police say that Merlo, a family member of the student, took the gun from the student’s guardian’s vehicle on September 14th, and hid the gun in the backpack two days later.
A warrant has been issued for Riley Merlo’s arrest. If anyone has information on her whereabouts, they can call state police at 724-357-1960.
