A junior at

Fayette County High School has been arrested and suspended from school

for 10 days after a machete was found in the back of his pickup truck

in the school parking lot.

Frank James

Gilman, 17, told school officials he had used the machete previously while

doing lawn care and forgot to take it out of his truck before coming to

school Tuesday, said schools spokesperson Melinda Berry-Dreisbach.

The FCHS junior

was arrested Tuesday and released on a $1,000 bond Wednesday afternoon.

The student

conduct code prohibits students from possessing weapons or "any object

which can be reasonably considered a weapon" on school property,

Berry-Dreisbach pointed out. Georgia law also requires school officials

to report any weapons violation to local law enforcement officers, Berry-Dreisbach

said.

"We have

to alert the authorities," Berry-Dreisbach said. "We have no

choice ... our hands are tied."

In this case,

the warrant on Gilman was taken out by Sgt. Ernest Stanley, a Fayetteville

police officer who serves as the school's resource officer.

The machete,

which is almost 22 inches long according to court records, was spotted

said.

When Gilman's

10-day suspension is up, a disciplinary tribunal will be held to determine

if further punishment is warranted, Berry-Dreisbach said. That tribunal,

composed of at least three principals, teachers or counselors in the school

system, will have the chance to hear Gilman's side of the story, she added.

That tribunal

could decide to suspend or possibly expel Gilman from school, Dreisbach

noted.

Attempts to

reach Gilman and his parents for comment were unsuccessful.

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