UPDATED: 11-30-17 — Referee Identified –

Gary Tabler Jr..jpg

Below is the police report from the Allen County Sheriff’s Department on the incident at the Lima Area Coaches Basketball Officials meeting.

On Wednesday evening (11-29-2017) at approximately 7:00 PM, Deputies were dispatched to Bath High School (2850 Bible Rd. Lima, Ohio) regarding a firearm discharge inside the school. Upon arrival responding officers learned that 49 year old Garry L. Tabler Jr. of Lima was attending a basketball referee’s meeting at the school and accidentally discharged the firearm which was in his coat pocket.

The investigation is ongoing and is being handled by the Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau. It is not believed there was any criminal intent in firing the weapon however Mr. Tabler was arrested for possession of a firearm in a school. The investigation will be submitted to an Allen County Grand Jury at a later date. No injuries were reported.

 

Ref

(11-30-17) – The above Tweet comes from Bath Superintendent Rich Dackin and gives us this information on the incident.

An unidentified basketball referee has been arrested, charged and was jailed and remains in jail with a bond hearing scheduled for today with a Felony charge of –

“Illegal conveyance or possession of a deadly weapon, or dangerous ordinance, or of object indistinguishable from a firearm in a school safety zone.”

The referee did have a valid Conceal and Carry Weapon permit.