HARDIN – A Big Horn County jury convicted Nora Bettina Block, 42, of felony tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and misdemeanor obstructing a peace officer, according to Big Horn County Attorney Jay Harris.
Block was an art teacher at the Hardin High School who in late January 2018 was presented with a handgun in her classroom by a student and failed to notify authorities until the following day, and initially gave false statements to law enforcement as to the circumstances of the handgun’s discovery.
Witnesses included the Big Horn County undersheriff, sheriff’s deputies, school administrators, another teacher, high school students, and Block.
Harris said the jury deliberated for over seven hours before reaching verdicts on two of the three alleged counts. The jury hung on the charge of possession of a weapon in a school building, which the state subsequently moved to dismiss.
Block faces a maximum of 10 years imprisonment and a $50,500 fine.
