A San Diego-area teen is facing felony charges for allegedly rendering a police officer unconscious and stealing his patrol radio and keys following a "play boxing" incident that quickly escalated, sending a police officer and students to the hospital.
"You basically started a riot," Judge Browder Willis told the minor directly in court, referring to him and his friends.
The 17-year-old minor, a senior and basketball player with a 2.6 GPA, was formally charged Monday during a juvenile hall hearing. He was arraigned on charges of assault on a police officer, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, violently resisting a police officer and assault on a school officer. He is also facing a misdemeanor theft charge.
Richard Arroyo, an attorney for the teen, entered denials on his behalf for all charges. The teen has no prior record, Arroyo said.
In the juvenile hall courtroom, Prosecutor Minaz Bhayani said the Friday, Feb. 26 incident began with reports of students gathered by the gym during a lunch break, "play boxing" or "slap boxing." Upperclassmen were somehow hazing an incoming class, he said. No weapons were involved.
A 16-year-old minor, who appeared in court last week, was hit in the head so hard, he suffered a laceration, the attorney said. A San Diego Unified School District officer noticed the injury and wanted to help, following him into a nearby garage. The teen walked away, and the officer followed.
"This was not a hostile contact by the officer," Bhayani said. "He wanted to render aid."
The teen allegedly became aggressive and hit the officer in the face once, then six or seven additional times.
The 17-year-old student in court Monday came up behind the officer, striking the back of his head in a type of "surprise attack," Bhayani said. More strikes followed, he said, and the officer then lost consciousness. When he regained consciousness, he struck a minor with his Taser.
A student’s cellphone video shows a 16-year-old student on the ground in the parking garage after being stunned with a Taser by a school police officer. The officer was taken to the hospital with serious injuries as well as five students who were pepper sprayed.
The 17-year-old in court is accused of stealing the patrol radio and patrol keys, jumping a fence and then hiding those items in a backpack somewhere in the neighborhood. During this time he suffered an ankle injury of some sort, putting him in a boot and with crutches. How this injury happened is under dispute by both sides.
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The prosecutor asked Judge Willis to follow the probation department's recommendation and let the minor remain in juvenile hall. The boy's father and step mother were both in court, and they urged the judge to do otherwise.
"He's not a menace to society, and he should be able to come home," the father said.
The minor's basketball coach was also in court, saying the teen was a leader in a study hall program and helped get students together for a feed the homeless program as part of required community service time.
The students involved in the incident will not be expelled. An attorney for the school district said officials are working on an alternative placement for the students at a different school so they can return to their studies. Transportation would be provided.
After speaking with both attorneys, Judge Willis released the minor to his parents with electronic monitoring. He will remain under home detention until his next court date.
All three minors charged with crimes have been released to their parents to be monitored at home until their next court dates. NBC 7 San Diego is not identifying the teens involved as they are minors and are not being charged as adults.
“He is not hanging out; he’s not doing sports until I can get a better handle on your situation,” Willis said, speaking to the teen.
He urged the juvenile to take a good, hard look at what he did and told him the lesson to take away was not to engage this way with law enforcement.
"You better get it right," Willis said, adding that his charges could be considered criminal.
If convicted in juvenile court, the teen could face a maximum sentence of eight years and 10 months in custody.
