Mother of 6-year-old boy who shot teacher gets 21 months for marijuana use while owning a gun

By BEN FINLEY
Associated Press

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — The mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher in a Virginia classroom has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for using marijuana while owning a gun. Deja Taylor’s son took his mother’s handgun to school and shot and wounded teacher Abby Zwerner in January. Taylor’s attorneys had requested probation and home confinement ahead of Wednesday’s federal court sentencing. U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis handed down the exact punishment prosecutors requested. Using marijuana while owning a firearm is illegal under U.S. law, and prosecutors said Taylor’s chronic abuse of marijuana extended far beyond recreational use.