Pinckney man sentenced to probation after dropping weapon in front of students

Robert Ray Berger was sentenced to six months probation on Monday, Aug. 14, after he pleaded guilty to carrying a weapon into a weapon-free school zone.
Robert Ray Berger was sentenced to six months probation on Monday, Aug. 14, after he pleaded guilty to carrying a weapon into a weapon-free school zone.

PINCKNEY — Robert Ray Berger, 45, who pled guilty in July to possessing a weapon in a weapon-free school zone, has been sentenced to six months probation.

Berger was sentenced Monday, Aug. 14, by Judge Daniel Bain. In addition to six months probation, he will attend a gun safety course, surrender his firearm and pay $1,255 in fines and fees.

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More: Pinckney man pleads guilty after dropping weapon in front of students

Berger was charged following a March 17 incident where he forgot to leave his concealed pistol in his car before entering Navigator Upper Elementary School in Pinckney. While engaging with students at the school, his holster fell off and onto the floor.

While Michigan law allows someone with a CPL to carry a weapon onto school grounds, a Michigan Court of Appeals decision allows districts to ban guns, whether concealed or openly carried.

According to his attorney Devin Boria, Berger has been a volunteer with the school for seven years and has a daughter who still attends.

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“(The school) has only great things to say about the guy and they said that he’s been extremely helpful with them,” Boria said.

This was Berger’s first offense.

— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@livingstondaily.com. Follow her on Twitter @tess_journalist.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Man charged with bringing weapon to school sentenced to probation