Liberty student charged after possible LSD incident

Staff report

LIBERTY

A 15-year-old Liberty High School student faces felony counts of gross sexual imposition, assault and vandalism after police said he got violent and inappropriately grabbed school employees while possibly on LSD.

He also faces a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.

Police said the school’s resource officer on Jan. 16 heard a female teacher yell in the hallway, “Do not touch me,” and called for help. The officer saw Preston Howard, the student later arrested, running in the hallway and out an exit door into the school’s parking lot. Howard was ordered to stop and complied while mumbling incoherent statements, according to a police report.

Howard was walked into the junior high school office, went up to another school employee, pushed her into a wall while grabbing her buttocks and breasts, police said.

The resource officer pulled Howard off the employee, and attempted to handcuff him when Howard pushed away and lunged for the high school principal, grabbing her breasts, police said.

Read more about the matter in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.