An adult woman, accused of wearing a holstered 9 mm handgun into a high school in early January, admitted guilt, was convicted of a felony and sentenced in Greene Superior Court last Wednesday morning.

Kristi L. Vester, 41, Bloomfield, was charged with possession of a firearm on school property, a Level 6 felony, following an incident that occurred on Thursday, January 3 at Eastern-Greene High School.

The incident was investigated by Indiana State Police Trooper Richard Klun who was working as the School Resource Officer for Eastern-Greene School Corporation that day.

After Klun was summoned to the office and questioned Vester about what kind of firearm she had on her, she allegedly said it was a 9 millimeter, 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.

A criminal case was later filed against Vester and a warrant issued for her arrest.

In mid-February, Vester signed a negotiated plea agreement which was accepted by the court.

On Wednesday morning, March 13, Vester appeared before Judge Dena Martin, admitted guilt and was convicted of the Level 6 felony.

Vester was sentenced to one year and 180 days in the Greene County Jail with all but 10 days suspended. She was given credit for two days already served and would get good time credit if eligible. She was ordered to report to the jail by 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 14, to serve her time.

Following her release, Vester will serve 1.5 years on supervised probation and if she successfully completes probation and does not commit any new criminal act, she can later apply to have her conviction reduced to a Class A misdemeanor.

For more information on this case, see earlier story by clicking the tag “Kristi Vester” under this story.