The then 20-year-old woman who brought a gun through the metal detectors at Beaumont ISD’s West Brook High School in the fall of 2022 will either enter a pre-trial diversion program or have her charge dropped to a misdemeanor, according to what the woman’s attorneys told Jefferson County 252nd District Court Judge Raquel West on Jan. 30.
Taryn Jnelle Biggers, through her attorney, reported to the court that bringing a gun onto the high school campus where she was a visitor was “an accident.”
“That’s why they are going to amend the charge,” the defense attorney argued of the prosecutorial reason to offer Biggers such a deal.
Biggers was initially arrested in August 2022 on charges of carrying a weapon in a prohibited place, a felony, and unlawfully carrying a weapon, a misdemeanor. BISD police found a handgun in Biggers’ purse, the police reported, pursuant to a search conducted after Biggers set off the entrance metal detectors.
Biggers faced up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Defense attorney Britanie Holmes said she does not anticipate Biggers will serve any jail time.
“We’re shooting for pre-trial diversion first,” Holmes said. “If not, the state has offered to reduce it.”
Additionally, Holmes asked to have the GPS monitoring device removed from her client. According to Biggers, the monitor alerts every time she passes a school campus – a frequent occurrence as she still lives in Beaumont.
“Because of the nature of the case, everywhere she drives – if it’s by the school – it goes off,” Holmes explained.
Judge West allowed for the monitor removal, but advised Biggers that she was still barred from the West Brook campus where she was allegedly caught with a firearm, as well as from possessing any firearm in general.