Student Charged At Perry Hall HS Was Breaking Up Fight: Report

PERRY HALL, MD — The teen who has been charged in the recent Perry Hall High School parking lot fight was trying to break up the scuffle, his lawyer told reporters this week. The 18-year-old student was arrested on Friday and released following a bail review on Monday, court records show.

Darren Keith Bennett Jr., 18, of the 3900 block of Menswood Lane in Nottingham, has been charged with possessing a weapon on school property, disturbing school operations and disturbing the peace.

“I do believe he is innocent," the teen's attorney, Landon White, told WBAL. The lawyer said that he believed Bennett was “over-charged," and noted the teen is a Perry Hall High School football captain who has no criminal record, has been accepted to multiple colleges and has taken Advanced Placement courses.

"No bail for three days — that’s egregious in my personal opinion," White said after the teen was released on Monday, after a judge reportedly ordered him to adhere to a 10 p.m. curfew until further notice.

Bennett was attempting to break up a fight in the parking lot at Perry Hall High School that was recorded and shared on social media, his attorney told WBAL TV.

• Teen Charged With Having Weapon At Perry Hall High School
• Gun At Perry Hall High School Was Airsoft Pistol, Police Say

The probe into the Perry Hall High School brawl began after police received multiple 911 calls reporting the fight in the school parking lot before noon on Thursday, with callers reporting that a gun was involved, according to Corporal Shawn Vinson.

Authorities worked Friday to identify the people in the video and determine whether the weapon was real, Vinson said.

"Throughout the extensive investigation that followed, police and school staff were able to determine that a physical fight had, in fact, taken place and that a male subject had retrieved what appeared to be a long gun from a vehicle parked near the scene of the incident," the Baltimore County Police Department said in a statement. "That male had then walked towards the scene of the fight that was taking place while holding the weapon."

Officials said that when Bennett was taken into custody after 7 p.m. Friday, authorities recovered an Airsoft gun.

The Airsoft gun reportedly did not have an orange tip, which is required to distinguish it from a toy gun.

By federal law, manufacturers of toy guns must ensure they have an orange tip; are made of translucent material; or have bright colors somewhere on them to make it clear they are not weapons.

Photo of Darren Bennett courtesy of Baltimore County Police Department.