SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Two teenage brothers are learning a lesson in the law after they were charged for allegedly bringing a loaded gun to Miami Palmetto Senior High School.
Joshua and Jonathan Mizelle, ages 17 and 15, appeared in juvenile court Friday morning. They are each facing one felony charge.
The siblings were arrested at the school, located in the area of Southwest 118th Street and 74th Avenue, on Oct. 1, after a student notified authorities one of the brothers was armed.
According to the arrest report, the student claimed Joshua had a gun and narcotics on him.
When confronted by police, Joshua denied having a firearm on him and allowed officers to search his vehicle in the student parking lot.
Student Luke Cernogorsky said he recalls a commotion in the parking lot.
“I actually was in the lot when it happened, and I came out, I saw a cop and Mr. Hunter going through some SUV, and there was apparently a lot of stuff getting pulled out of it,” he said.
During the search, a loaded .45 handgun, two knives and brass knuckles were found inside of the vehicle.
Joshua was taken into custody.
Jonathan was then taken out of class and was also arrested, due to the siblings arriving to school in the same vehicle.
Parents later got a call from the school letting them know what happened.
“It’s very scary, what’s happening today,” said concerned parent Angela Griffith. “I’m definitely thinking about home schooling, because this is, like, an epidemic, and this has got to stop.”
There is no indication the firearm was ever taken into the school.
It was later determined Jonathan was responsible for the weapons being brought onto the school’s campus.
“If I’m dealing with the facts of the case, it alleges that it’s his gun,” said Judge Orlando Prescott.
Daniel Minkes, the attorney representing Jonathan, insisted there was never a plan to harm anyone.
“And really no threat and no danger and no malicious intent,” he said.
Russell Spatz, an attorney for Joshua, described the defendant as a model student.
“He’s just a great student, and he’s doing well, and this is just an aberrant thing,” he said. “What I just want to let the court know, not only has he never been in trouble before, he’s a star athlete. He has a scholarship, which unfortunately, is in jeopardy because of this thing.’
But Prescott did not sympathize with the attorney’s words.
“Those are consequences. There’s always long-term consequences, — good, bad and indifferent — and because he’s an athlete [it] doesn’t bear anything with me,” he said.
Both brothers are facing multiple felony charges including possession of a firearm on school property.
Joshua will be released on house arrest while Jonathan will be held in secure detention until Oct. 22.
Their next trial date is set for Dec. 13.
Friday afternoon, Miami-Dade County Public Schools released a statement thanking the student who alerted police.
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