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Uploaded: Monday, February 4, 2013, 10:59 AM                                             

Mistrial in case involving threat against principal
East Palo Alto mother allegedly threatened to shoot school official

by Sue Dremann
Palo Alto Weekly Staff

Posted by Wondering?, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2013 at 1:04 pm

Wonder what evidence the proscecution presented--other than that of the Principal? Without any witnesses, this would seem to be a difficult case to prove if the defendent denied the charge.

Wonder what the racial makeup of the jury was. This could well be a case of jury nullification based on racial grounds. The infamous Lee and Kan jury broke along racial lines--leaving the Santa Clara County DA's Office claiming that it wasn't worth retrying the case because a predominently Asian jury pool would not convict (or words along those lines).

Makes one wonder if, over time, "diversity" will not destroy the predominantly white institution of jury trials.

Posted by Diversity, a member of the Palo Alto High School community, on Feb 4, 2013 at 1:31 pm

There does seem to be a diversity of gangs these days: Tongan, Samoan, Mexican, Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, etc. The jury members are often terrified of retaliation, especially when Asain gangs are involved. We lived in what slowly became an Asain neighborhood in Fremont for eight years, and there was so much crime, violent and otherwise. Yet, the victims were afraid to call for help for fear of worse if they did!

Posted by God's Daughter, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Feb 5, 2013 at 8:53 am

Thank You JESUS!! This all worked out for the good! I'm not a big fan of the schools in East Palo Alto, I attended Brentwood and Ronald McNair and the teachers we have today are not as caring as the teachers that were in the schools when I attended. The new generation teachers treat the children diffrent based on the neighborhoods they come from, instead of putting in a little more time and getting to know the families and the home the child comes from so they can get a clear picture of the child. The Ravenswood School District is a JOKE!!! I believe in this case they lied like they always do. That's why the vote was a good split 5-1-6 jury. That 1 person was the realiest on the JURY!!! My thoughts Have A Blessed Day!!

Posted by Mom2mybabes, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Feb 5, 2013 at 11:31 am

Ravenswood City School District has been a threat to this community for many many years. I attended this district growing up and it is totally different today than it was twenty years ago. The teachers do not care about the children they are required to teach.

I know God has this in his hands and hopefully, prayerfully this will be the end of this mess!!!

Posted by observer, a resident of the Adobe-Meadows neighborhood, on Feb 5, 2013 at 11:42 am

I've been working in a non-teaching, non-admin support position in Ravenswood for 15+ years. Yes, it's true that Ravenswood is not what it was 20 years ago. Thank goodness!! The improvements in the district are huge. The teachers do care about their students -- they want them to learn. They want them to be good citizens. They want them to succeed in the bigger world. They are not willing to coddle them just because they are minority. When standards are raised some people don't like doing the work and may blame teachers for being 'uncaring.'

There were witnesses to the threats against the Principal and those people testified at the trial.

Posted by myopinion, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Feb 5, 2013 at 1:01 pm

From my understanding there were other's who witnessed the threats. I don't think its the school. Many are overlooking the fact that the child also threateened another student. That's why she was being suspended. Makes one believe she is only doing what she sees her mother do. This lady has been in the news before. She is by no means a saint. I do hope the D.A. pick it up. The educators are treated horrible and she needs to be punished.

Posted by anonymous, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 5, 2013 at 1:50 pm

I hope people won't try to make this about larger issues -- parents vs. admin, Ravenswood district, teachers attitudes, etc -- when it's not. The parent and child acted like bullies and the principal probably did the only thing she knew how to do in this violent day and age, which was report a threat of violence to authorities.

It frightens me though, given how petty some of the administrative people in our district can be, to think an ordinary conflict where people say things they don't mean in the heat of the moment could be turned into a criminal case out of petty bureaucratic malice. In such a case, families are hurt, the community is hurt, to serve no good purpose. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean that's what happened here. Apparently, even when people knew the facts, the answer wasn't clear.

Posted by tired of the BS, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Feb 5, 2013 at 9:44 pm

I guess her daughter learned that behavior at home...

We need to teach our children to respect teachers and value learning. I see that as one of the biggest down falls of our community, not making education a priority. I know this does not apply to all parents, but it does apply to enough of them that it makes it hard on everyone. I hope they file again.