Winston-Salem teen convicted of gun possession at WSSU

WSSU officials sent out a campus safety advisory when the incident occurred to students, staff and faculty, but neither WSSU nor the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, whose deputies arrested the teen , did not publicly issue a press release on the case last year.

Christopher Anthony Allen, 19, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm on school grounds, resisting a police officer and carrying a concealed weapon. Allen also pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana, attempted trafficking in opium and carrying a concealed weapon.

Judge Jason Ramey of Forsyth Superior Court sentenced Allen to a suspended prison sentence of one year and 10 months to three years and 10 months in prison, placed him on probation for three years and ordered him to serve four months in the Forsyth County Jail.

Sara Loebner, assistant Forsyth County prosecutor, discussed the charges against Allen during the May 15 court hearing.

Loebner told Ramey that Allen was a verified gang member. She said Allen and other gang members went to a WSSU dorm on April 4, 2023. Allen was 17 at the time and not a student at WSSU.

Sheriff's Office investigators were watching Allen that day because he was a gang member, and they followed him to WSSU, Loebner said.

Investigators saw Allen with a large group of students at the dormitory.

At one point, Allen ran from investigators who were trying to arrest him, Loebner said. Deputies then arrested Allen outside the building.

Allen was charged with possession of a loaded weapon, possession of a stolen firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, possession with intent to sell and deliver a controlled substance and marijuana, as well as as two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, according to court records.

Another teen, Jalen Jermaine Howard, 19, of George Black Lane, was arrested with Allen, according to court records. Howard was charged with possession of a firearm on educational property, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of up to ½ ounce of marijuana.

The arrests of Allen and Howard prompted WSSU police to issue a campus safety advisory to the university community.

The notice stated that WSSU police assisted Forsyth County sheriff's deputies in arresting two non-students on campus. The suspects were charged with drug and weapons offenses, and the Sheriff's Office conducted the investigation.

“At this time, there is no immediate threat to the campus,” the notice said.

The incident was documented in the WSSU Clery crime log and will be disclosed to the U.S. Department of Education in the university's 2024 annual security report to that agency, Police Chief Amir Henry said Wednesday from WSSU.

The Department of Education did not require WSSU to issue a press release about the April 2023 incident, Henry said.

The Clery Act requires colleges and universities that receive federal student aid to distribute a public safety report to their employees and students every Oct. 1, a Department of Education spokesperson said. The report will include WSSU campus crime statistics for 2023.

Howard, 22, pleaded guilty May 13 to possession of a firearm on educational property and carrying a concealed weapon, according to court records.

Ramey gave Howard a suspended prison sentence of three to 13 months in prison and placed him on probation for one year, according to a court record.

After Allen was released on gun charges, he was arrested and charged Feb. 23 with several drug offenses and a weapons charge after Winston-Salem police found him and a woman asleep in chairs at the Sleep Inn at Hampton Inn Court. » said Loebner.

The women woke up while officers were on the scene, but Allen was unconscious, Loebner said.

Officers searched Allen and found Allen had a stolen gun, a small bag of marijuana, 67 fentanyl and methamphetamine pills and $710, Loebner said.

Allen recovered after being treated at a local hospital.

Julie Boyer of Winston-Salem, Allen's attorney, told the judge that her client overdosed on fentanyl at the hotel.

“The overdose scared him a lot,” Boyer said. “He almost died.”

Possessing a gun at WSSU is a serious crime, but Allen never brandished the weapon or threatened anyone with it, Boyer said.

After Ramey gave Allen a suspended prison sentence, the judge urged Allen to change his lifestyle.

“I'm very concerned that you're going to die from drugs or from gun violence,” Ramey told Allen. “You can blame society and you will be dead. We give you a second chance.