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Woman accused of wearing a holstered handgun into a high school

A warrant for the arrest of an adult woman with a concealed carry permit was ordered today. She is accused of wearing a holstered 9mm handgun into a high school.

Kristi L. Vester, 41, of Bloomfield, is facing a preliminary charge of possession of a firearm on school property, a Level 6 felony.

Indiana State Police Trooper Richard Klun is the investigating officer of an incident involving Vester that occurred last week, on Thursday, January 3.

Trooper Klun was working as the School Resource Officer for Eastern-Greene School Corporation that day. Around 1:50 p.m., he was requested to assist the staff in the high school office and when he arrived in the office, he was told Vester, who was in the counselor’s office, was believed to be in possession of a handgun.

Klun reported he saw a large bulge on Vester’s right hip as she was filling out paperwork then when she finished and dropped her elbows into a relaxed position, the bulge resembled a handgun in a holster and he asked Vester to step into another office to talk to him.

Klun said when he asked her what kind of firearm she had on her, she said it was a nine millimeter and he told her not to reach for it but to unzip her jacket, then told her to remove the entire holster.

While she was removing the holster, Vester allegedly said she knew she was not supposed to have it but she did have a permit and she forgot to take the gun off.

Klun said there were six rounds of ammunition in the magazine that was in the firearm, a Ruger LC380, with none chambered.

Klun ran checks to verify her identity, her driver’s license and a concealed carry permit, then returned the firearm and her ID cards to her, advising her the information would be forwarded to the prosecutor’s office.

The Greene County Prosecutor’s Office filed a criminal case against Vester the next day, which was last Friday, and today, Monday, January 7, a judge ordered a warrant be issued for Vester’s arrest.

In the probable cause affidavit prepared by Trooper Klun, he noted a previous incident involving Vester wearing a gun had been reported to him in late November of 2018. Klun wrote that a teacher had observed Vester exiting her truck at the school and said Vester had retrieved a handgun from her truck, put it in a holster on her hip, and then entered the school. This allegedly occurred around 3:45 p.m. on November 29, and a school resource officer was not present at that time.