He allegedly brought weapons to Central Bucks meeting and was banned. Now, he can attend

A Buckingham man can resume attending Central Bucks school board meetings after a near eight-month ban for allegedly bringing a knife and firearm into a meeting last year.

But now James Del Rio wants a Common Pleas judge to overturn the rest of the order that lifted his ban, which found the district acted reasonably when it imposed it. Del Rio has always denied bringing a firearm into the meeting held at the district office in Doylestown.

The motion filed in Bucks County court was in response to a Nov. 3 decision from an earlier due-process hearing on the March 14, 2023 incident involving Del Rio.

The order laid out in detail for the first time the circumstances that led the district to bar Del Rio from attending public school board and committee meetings, a decision the board didn't publicly acknowledge.

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Was Del Rio carrying a weapon at the meeting?

Del Rio admitted that he had a knife with him and claimed he routinely carries a “small pocket knife,” with a blade less than five inches long, out of habit, according to the order.

Video surveillance footage showed that as Del Rio was waiting to enter the board room a knife fell out of his pants' waistband. It hit the ground, sprung open exposing the blade, and then Del Rio picked it up and put it back in his pocket, according to the order.

Did Del Rio also have a gun on him?

Del Rio has denied he had a firearm at the meeting, but a Doylestown Township police officer and the district’s safety and security manager both testified that he admitted it to them.

After the board meeting adjourned, Scott Argetsinger, the manager, was contacted by an “unknown female” who attended the meeting and alleged she saw a man wearing a gun in the meeting room.

The woman identified Del Rio.

Argetsinger, Doylestown Township police Officer Christopher O’Conner, and a district security officer then contacted Del Rio in the parking lot after he left the meeting.

O’Conner testified that when he asked Del Rio if he has a firearm on him, he answered “yes” and produced a concealed carry permit, according to the order.

Argetsinger also testified that Del Rio admitted having a firearm, a concealed carry permit and indicated that he did not believe that the meeting room was in a “school building.” Firearms are prohibited inside educational facilities under state law.

Both men also testified that they did not ask Del Rio to show them the firearm or search him. O’Conner said that he didn’t pat down Del Rio because he showed a concealed carry permit and he did not appear to be agitated or a threat.

The district provided video footage of Del Rio at the meeting, which Argetsinger reviewed and said it "suggested" he wore a gun holster clip on his waistband and showed the "outline of a handgun," the order said.

A photograph of Del Rio taken during the meeting also showed a “discernable bulge in the right hip and waist area on Mr. Del Rio’s right side,” the order said.

What did Del Rio testify about the firearm allegations?

Del Rio has denied that he brought a concealed firearm into the meeting. He testified the bulge seen in the video and photo was either his flashlight or rolled up papers in his pants pocket, according to the order.

Del Rio testified that he showed O’Conner and Argetsinger his concealed carry permit, but he denied telling either man he had a firearm, claiming he responded to them with "No, so what if I did. Is this an educational facility?"

His attorney Chadwick Schnee, also argued in the motion to vacate the rest of the order that the district presented no substantial evidence showing his client possessed a firearm and the subsequent ban violated his constitutional rights.

The district did not identify the individual who reported Del Rio and the person did not testify at the due-process hearing, Schnee said. The video and photo of Del Rio also did not “explicitly” show a firearm, he added.

Schnee also contends that neither a March 15 letter  from Doylestown Township Police Department Chief Dean Logan or a March 22 letter from district’s former solicitor Jeffrey Garton confirm his client was armed with a firearm on March 14.

Schnee did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday asking why his client wants to have the rest of the Nov. 3 order overturned.

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What did the hearing officer conclude?

Attorney Thomas Panzer determined that Del Rio violated state law and the meeting ban imposed did not violate his constitutional rights. Panzer did not provide a reason in the order for lifting the meeting ban.

The district presented "substantial competent evidence” supporting its conclusion that Del Rio possessed a knife and firearm on school grounds, Panzer wrote. He added the district acted “reasonably” in limiting Del Rio’s access to board meetings.

Panzer said he based his decision on the testimony of “two trained law enforcement professionals" and “in conjunction with other circumstantial evidence.”

He also noted that Del Rio’s explanation for bringing his knife to the meeting was “lacking in credibility.” He also found the knife was "larger and a different style" than a pocket or pen knife, which would make it considered a potential weapon under the state definition.

“Mr. Del Rio’s explanation about the possible everyday uses for the knife in question do not justify Mr. Del Rio’s bringing that particular knife to the school board meeting in question,” Panzer added.

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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Court ends ban for man who allegedly brought knife, gun to Central Bucks