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SALT LAKE CITY — A Denver man who allegedly brought a gun into a Moab school and "trashed" one of the rooms was arrested Wednesday.
Charles Gregory Gee, 56, was booked into the Grand County Jail for investigation of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, possession of a firearm on school property, disrupting operation of a school, carrying a weapon while under the influence of drugs, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Police were called to Moab Charter School, 358 E. 300 South, about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday on a report of a man "trashing a room that was being set up for an event," according to a jail report. The room was occupied by staff, parents and students.
Gee initially walked into the school office and sat down with others waiting for the event.
"One of the other teachers asked our subject if he was part of the mentor program and the subject said yes. The subject then went with the other mentor personnel over to the cafeteria where they were setting up for an event. The subject then started trashing the area and people started leaving the room," according to the report.
He took several mats that were set up in the cafeteria and "made a circle around himself," the report states.
Gee was escorted out of the school while Moab police, the Grand County Sheriff's Office and Utah Highway Patrol responded to the area. He was spotted around the corner from the school.
Police say he told them he had two guns in the bag he was carrying. Officers checking the bag "pulled out the first pistol which was a Smith & Wesson .44 magnum loaded with all five cylinders. The pistol case that the .44 magnum was in also contained two additional five-round speed loaders fully loaded and ready to go," according to the report.
Officers also found a bag with "hundreds of rounds of 22 long rifle ammo and two flashlights," but did not find a second gun, the report states. Police also reported finding drugs and drug paraphernalia.
Investigators said Gee never brandished a gun inside the school and no one was harmed. Officers later served search warrants on Gee's vehicle and hotel room and recovered another gun, according to police.
"Our investigation has not demonstrated that Mr. Gee had a definitive plan to harm students or staff, nor have we been able to identify a specific motive for his actions," police said in a prepared statement Thursday.
Police said Gee has no connection to the school. Email: preavy@deseretnews.com Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam
