Greensboro Man Who Entered Elementary School with Firearm Sentenced

GREENSBORO - JONATHAN CAMERON COLEY was sentenced today to 42 months in prison after being convicted of a firearm offense, announced United States Attorney Sandra J. Hairston of the Middle District of North Carolina.

COLEY, age 26, pleaded guilty on September 4, 2024, to possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled substance.

According to evidence in the court record, on April 13, 2024, a Greensboro Police Department (GPD) officer responded to Irving Park Elementary School at approximately 6:00 a.m. in reference to a burglar alarm activation. The GPD officer found the door to the gymnasium was propped open by a basketball goal. He cleared the interior of the school and did not locate any further suspicious activity or persons inside. Subsequent review of surveillance camera footage showed a newer model, blue Dodge Challenger arriving in the area at 5:23 a.m. on April 13, 2024. The Challenger was seen parking near the front entrance of the school. A white male walked into camera view and then proceeded back to the Challenger and left. The suspect was later identified by GPD as COLEY. At 5:48 a.m. on the surveillance video, COLEY reappeared on camera on the school property, this time armed with a long gun. COLEY entered the school through a door leading to the gym. The door appeared to be unlocked or unsecured. COLEY was then captured on surveillance video walking through the gym and entering the main lobby of the school, still armed with a long gun. COLEY walked down a hallway and eventually exited the school through the kindergarten entrance doors and walked away from the school with the firearm.

COLEY was arrested on state warrants for Breaking and/or Entering and Possession of a Firearm on School Grounds. During the arrest, officers detected an odor of marihuana coming from COLEY's vehicle. A search of the vehicle produced two bags of edible THC products, multiple bags of marihuana, two marihuana cigarettes, a digital scale, marihuana grinders, and several plastic bags used to store marihuana. During interviews subsequent to his arrest, COLEY admitted to using methamphetamine two to three times a day.

COLEY was sentenced today to 42 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release by the Honorable Catherine C. Eagles, Chief United States District Judge in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.