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Gates County teacher arrested on gun, alcohol related charges

Posted at 3:23 PM, Nov 20, 2015
and last updated 2015-11-20 17:51:51-05

Gates County, N.C. - A Gates County High School science teacher has resigned after being arrested for gun and alcohol related charges.

Stephen Matthew Perry (Photo: Gates County Sheriff's Office)

Stephen Matthew Perry (Photo: Gates County Sheriff's Office)

Stephen Matthew Perry was arrested for two felony warrants for possession of a firearm and one count of possession of alcohol on school property.

The Gates County Sheriff's Office started their investigation on Thursday after receiving a complaint from a student about Perry.

"It just basically seemed like--he seemed to be a little unsteady on his feet, that was the original complaint," said Sheriff Edward Webb.

After gathering information, Sheriff Webb says a school resource officer and the principal approached him.

"They recovered two small bottles of alcohol from out of the desk drawer there in the classroom," Sheriff Webb said.

Perry also admitted to having firearms in his car on school property--a rifle and a 20 gauge shot gun.

Sheriff Webb says he believes the guns in Perry's car were strictly for hunting, but it's still illegal.

Officers also did a breath test on Perry for alcohol in his system but it came back negative.

Webb says Perry was asked to leave the school and he resigned from the position on his own Thursday.

NewsChannel 3 reached out to the school, who confirmed that a public school teacher resigned on November 19. They cannot comment further because it is a personnel issue.