Florida teen, banned from graduation over knife found in car, won't face trial

ESTERO, Fla. (AP) -- An honor student who was banned from graduation because a kitchen knife was found in her car at school won't face trial, a prosecutor said.

To convict Lindsay Brown of a felony weapons possession charge, it must be proven that she knew the knife was in the car when she drove into the school parking lot, State Attorney Joe D'Alessandro said.

"I just can't prove that," he said in Thursday's edition of the Naples Daily News.

Brown, 18, would have faced prison time and lost her state-sponsored scholarship to Florida Gulf Coast University if she had been convicted. The school promised to raise money for her tuition if that had occurred.

Brown insisted the knife must have fallen out of a box when she helped her family move. She was arrested May 21 when a Lee County sheriff's deputy spotted the knife.

Estero High School Principal Fred Bode suspended her for five days and banned her from Tuesday night's graduation. A federal judge refused to hear the case.

Brown's attorney, Peter Ringsmuth, said sheriff's deputies should not have been so "hasty" in arresting Brown.