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Lakeland Police Jail Dad Of Teen Held in Gun, Porn Case

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By BILLY TOWNSEND | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 2, 2007

Related Coverage: Teen Faces 26 Child Porn Counts

LAKELAND - The biological father of a Lakeland teen facing weapons and child pornography charges was arrested on drug charges late Thursday.

Jessie Newberry

Jessie Newberry, 44, was arrested on marijuana and cocaine possession charges, Lakeland police said.

The arrest grew out of a search warrant served Oct. 10 on the home Jessie Newberry shares with his son, 18-year-old Shawn.

Shawn Newberry has been in and out of jail since early October, when he walked into a Lakeland charter school wearing a bullet-resistant vest. The 18-year-old, who had a legally obtained arsenal, eventually was arrested on a school weapon charge. He was released, then arrested again on trespassing and criminal mischief charges. And on Thursday, he was charged with 26 counts of possession of child pornography, police said.

Shawn Newberry

The images were taken from Newberry's computer after authorities confiscated it while executing the same search warrant that yielded the drugs tied to Newberry's father, police said.

It was not immediately clear why there was a three-week delay between the execution of the search warrant and the elder Newberry's arrest.

Police found that Shawn Newberry had legally purchased body armor, a Taser, three Kalashnikov assault rifles, a shotgun, Clear Out grenades with tubes for under-door deployment, a tactical helmet, a gas mask and about 2,000 rounds of ammunition. And detectives expressed concern that he might be planning some sort of illegal act

The younger Newberry is being held without bail at Polk County Jail. The older Newberry's bail status was not immediately available.

At the time of Shawn Newberry's second arrest, Jessie Newberry defend his son, saying, "The truth is, Shawn is the most gentle person you'll ever meet in the world.

"He's never picked a fight with anybody. He would not hurt a flea."

Lakeland Police Department Officer Jennifer Mullins, however, in applying for the warrant to search Newberry's home, wrote that she "believes that Newberry is training and arming himself for some future illegal event in conjunction and conspiracy with other like-minded persons."

Police were looking for evidence of "communications and plans" at Newberry's home at 2108 Selkirk Lane. They have not charged him with anything that indicates there might have been a plan in motion.

"This is a classic case of personal rights versus public safety," Sgt. Terri Smith of the Lakeland Police Department said at the time "Did we step in and avert a disaster? We may never know."

Reporter Billy Townsend can be reached at (863) 284-1409 or wtownsend@tampatrib.com.

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