Bremen man arrested in school firearm incident back in custody

A Bremen man accused of negligently discharging a firearm during a middle school wrestling tournament in early March is back in custody after failing to show up for court.

Scott W. Yeager, 44, of Bremen, was arrested Sunday on a warrant charging him with failure to appear on original charges of criminal recklessness with a firearm, possession of a firearm on school property, possession of a knife on school property, possession of cocaine, possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana. 

He was supposed to appear for a pretrial conference in Fulton Superior Court on June 12. A new hearing had not been set as of Monday afternoon.  

His original charges stem from a busy, 11-team wrestling tournament at Rochester High School on March 2, when a handgun was discharged in the school gym. Police found Yeager in the stands with a backpack containing two handguns and drugs. One of the guns reportedly had a spent round inside.

“Nobody even knew it was a gun that discharged,” Fulton County Sheriff Travis Heishman earlier stated about the incident. “People heard the noise but they had no idea what it was. Fortunately, no one was injured."

He also noted the act is considered a negligent one, not accidental. 

“It used to be an accidental discharge, but they call it negligent now,” he said. “They say it’s never an accident that a gun goes off.”

The sheriff’s office was assisted in its investigation by Rochester schools’ administrative staff. The incident prompted Rochester School Corp. Superintendent Jana Vance to email the school board's policy committee to revisit policies pertaining to school safety. 

“I applaud Deputy Rick Utter, Deputy Ryan Utter, and Deputy Ryan Haney for their quick response in handling the situation,” Heishman said in the press release. “Through their swift control of the scene, no injuries were sustained, and the suspect was taken into custody without incident.”

Bremen Schools Superintendent Jim White was quick to address the incident on social media, sharing in a post that Yeager was suspected of being under the influence of an intoxicating substance at the time. Heishman later reported that he had no outward signs of intoxication.

“Allow me to apologize to the Rochester community on behalf of our school system,” White said. “This individual in no way reflects the people of Bremen nor our school system. We are thankful for your staff’s amazing efforts handling the situation and again offer our sincere apology for the incident.”

He added: “All participating athletes displayed amazing resilience by continuing with the meet.”

Yeager was picked up in Marshall County, where he has three separate cases pending on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana, resisting law enforcement, driving while intoxicated and driving while suspended with a prior suspension within 10 years.