17-year-old accused of pulling gun during fight at Case High School pleads no contest to felony charge

RACINE COUNTY -- A teenager accused of pulling a gun during a fight at Case High School in Racine has reached a plea deal in the case against him.

De'avrndre Crawford

De'avrndre Crawford, 17, pleaded no contest to one count of possession of a firearm on the grounds of a school. Two other charges were dismissed but read into the court record as a result of the plea deal.

Crawford will be sentenced on March 20.

According to the criminal complaint, a Mount Pleasant police officer was on duty at Case High School on April 26, 2017. Around 12:15 p.m., the officer was told of a fight between two students in front of the school.

The complaint indicates "the fight began in the school foyer and moved to the front of the building." One of the persons involved left the school grounds -- the other was taken into the school staff. That second teen refused to tell the officer who he had been fighting with.

The officer spoke with a parent of a Case High School student who "observed a fight" between two students. The parent said one of the teens "took an item out of his left pants pocket. (The parent) described the item as a metallic object she believed to be a pistol." The parents said "she was sure the object was a gun and not a cellphone."

The complaint says the officer eventually determined that the student involved in those incidents described above was Crawford.

Two other officers went to Crawford's home. His mother let them into the home and officers "found (Crawford) peeking out of a closet in a bedroom." He denied owning a gun, but officers also located a firearm on Crawford's bed. The complaint says "when confronted with the fact witnesses saw him with a gun, he stated he would never bring a gun to school." Instead, Crawford first said "he found the gun on the ground outside his home." Later he said "during the fight he felt the gun in (the other person's) pocket, that (the other person) retrieved the gun from his pocket and Crawford took the gun from him." Crawford said "when faculty arrived he put the gun in his pocket and took off running because he was scared."