The mother of a Villages Charter School student charged earlier this year in a foiled Columbine-style attack is poised to avoid prosecution on felony drug charges.
Melynda Shearon’s attorney struck a deal in Lake County Court that will see charges of possession of cocaine and possession of cannabis dropped if she meets terms of a pre-trial intervention contract.
The 42-year-old mother of Zachary Shearon, a former Villages Charter Middle School student who told law enforcement officers he had been dealing with “bad depression” which prompted him to hatch the school shooting plot earlier this year, will have to be prepared to submit to a breathalyzer, blood or urine test at any time during the next 12 months. She must also seek substance abuse/psychological evaluation and/or treatment if recommended by her pre-trial intervention program officer.
On the evening of Jan. 26, Sumter County sheriff’s deputies and Lake County sheriff’s deputies, armed with a search warrant, arrived at the Shearons’ home on Mill View Road in Fruitland Park. Thomas Shearon, Zachary’s father, was the first to speak to deputies who advised him they had a search warrant. Thomas Shearon told deputies he would not give permission for his son to be interviewed. At that point, Zachary Shearon was taken into custody.
Melynda Shearon “was very upset and argumentative,” according to the case report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
During the search, an AR-15 rifle was seized as well as a magazine for the weapon and ammunition. Also taken in as evidence were iPhones, a Samsung Galaxy phone, a Samsung flip phone, a Blackberry, Kindle, Xbox and flash drives.
When deputies entered the master bedroom, they found on Melynda Shearon’s side of the bed “numerous burnt possible marijuana cigarettes in an ashtray along with a digital scale and wooden smoking pipe,” according to the law enforcement document. Discovered in Melynda Shearon’s closet were Ziploc bags containing cocaine.
On Monday in Lake County Court, the $3,000 bond Melynda Shearon had posted in her drug case was discharged.
Her son’s case is still pending in Sumter County Court. He was released from juvenile detention earlier this year and was turned over to his grandparents.
