Student charged with reckless fire of GRPD officer’s misplaced gun
Brewstir’s Bar and Grill in Meadows Crossing was the scene of the firing of a GRPD officer’s gun, which led to two charges of reckless discharge.
Apr 5, 2010
A Grand Valley State University student has been charged with reckless discharge of a firearm after she picked up and fired an off-duty Grand Rapids Police officer’s gun March 6 in the men’s bathroom of a local bar.
The gun’s owner, Allendale resident John Guerrero, has been charged with carrying a concealed weapon while having a blood-alcohol content of 0.02 to 0.08, a civil infraction, and reckless handing of a firearm, a misdemeanor. He faces up to 90 days in jail and a $150 fine.
The woman, 19, entered the men’s bathroom at Brewstir’s on 48th Avenue because the bar’s one-stall women’s bathroom was already occupied, said Lt. Mark Bennett of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department.
She, too, has been charged with reckless handling of a firearm. Her arraignment is set for Hudsonville district court Wednesday, after which the department will release her name to the public.
“It appears as though she was a victim of time frames,” Bennett said of the defendant.
Contrary to earlier reports, Bennett said Guerrero realized he did not have his gun when he heard the gunshot and not when Brewstir’s employees informed him.
Bennett added his department has “no inclination at all that (the two) knew each other before the event.”
Guerrero joined the GRPD in 2001. After the incident, the GRPD placed him on paid suspension.
He was at a pretrial conference at Hudsonville district court Thursday and will be back in court for another on May 18.
