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URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — A then-Centennial High School student who admitted to showing some type of weapon at school will be on probation for 30 months.

Judge Randy Rosenbaum Tuesday sentenced 18-year-old Pereze Collier of Champaign. Collier earlier admitted in court to disorderly conduct, specifically threatening a school building. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to cap their recommendation to the judge at 1.5 years in prison.

Champaign police officials earlier laid out the evidence, saying on September 8, 2021, there was a verbal fight among students, including Collier, at Centennial. Police said Collier took what investigators believed to be a gun out of a backpack, but he did not use the weapon. Collier turned himself in to police on September 17. He has been free since his plea on November 15 on a promise to return to court for this week’s sentencing.

Attorneys in court Tuesday noted it was unclear if the weapon Collier displayed was a real gun or some other kind, like a pellet gun. Collier, in a previous statement, outright denied it was a real gun, saying it was mace with a handle.

Image of Pereze Collier
Booking photo of Pereze Collier (via Champaign County Sheriff’s Office)

School district spokesperson Stacey Moore declined to comment on Collier’s sentencing.

The September incident came a Champaign public schools were grappling with how to deal with community violence that was impacting schools. Since then, the district has installed metal detectors at Centennial and Central high schools.