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Canoga Park Man Charged After 9-Year-Old Boy Brought Loaded Gun To School

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A San Fernando Valley man has been charged for allegedly failing to properly store a loaded gun that a 9-year-old boy brought to his elementary school earlier this month, prosecutors said.

City Attorney Mike Feuer announced charges against Aaron Martin, 41, in the incident on Mar 4. when school officials say they noticed a fourth grade student of Nestle Elementary School in Tarzana place a weapon into a rain gutter near the restroom.

Los Angeles School Police officers responded to the scene and found a Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun loaded with 11 live rounds of ammunition, according to Feuer. The child allegedly brought the weapon to school to show other students after taking it from underneath a dog bed in defendant's residence.

The weapon was never pointed at a child or adult, nor was brought into any classroom, officials said.

No one was injured in the incident, and the school routine was not interrupted, according to Los Angeles Unified School District officials.

Martin was charged with four criminal counts including keeping a loaded firearm in a location where a child is likely to gain access, allowing a child to carry a firearm off-premises, permitting a child to be placed in a situation where their person or health is endangered; and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to Feuer.

Each count carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and up to $5,000 in fines. The City Attorney said he will also be seeking conditions which would prohibit the possession of any weapons.

The charges follow the filing of two similar cases by the City Attorney against individuals in the past five months, including charges against the mother of a 17-year-old student who took a loaded handgun to Will Rogers High School in Van Nuys.

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