The Española School District is keeping quiet about the fate of Billy Jones, the 15-year-old sophomore student who was found with a “hit list” at Española Valley High School Sept. 7 and arrested Sept. 9 by Española Police following a complete lock down of the school.
Rodney and Cindy Benson, parents of sophomore Jolene Benson, said they were never informed by the high school, police or anyone in the District that their daughter’s full name appeared on a picture of a tombstone drawn by Jones, and as a nickname at the top of a “list for hell” that he kept.
“Nobody at the school said anything to me,” Jolene Benson, 15, said. “I found out from kids I didn’t even know coming up to me in the halls and telling me I was at the top of a hit list.”
Jolene Benson said she and Jones were in two classes together, biology and ROTC, and had known him since late last school year when they both attended the Española Military Academy.
Jolene Benson said she and her friends tried to befriend Jones, but he drifted away and became isolated from his peers.
“I never really saw him get picked on too much,” Jolene Benson said. “Most kids just kind of stayed out of his way.”
After the school was locked down due to an anonymous call stating that a “sophomore with a gun” was on campus, Jolene Benson said she no longer felt safe attending the high school.
“I really don’t want to go back because I don’t know when he’s coming back to school or what he’ll do,” Jolene Benson said.
Cindy Benson said she thought it was irresponsible for the District not to contact the parents of children allegedly named in the list and Jones’ drawings.
“They should have the decency to inform you when your child’s life is threatened, and they should have called the parents of the kids on that list so we could decide if our kids should go to school the next day,” Cindy Benson said.
High school Assistant Principal Ruben Salazar said no parents were contacted because Jones’ list did not contain full names.
“From what I was told, they were either nicknames, or first names and initials,” Salazar said.
An Española Police report states Jones had a list of six names, the first being the nickname “Pink Whore.” Later the report states Jones also possessed drawings of tombstones — one that named student Chris D. Trujillo and another that read “Jolene Benson (Pink Whore).”
No Response
Rodney Benson said he has been trying to get in touch with representatives from the high school and the District since the Sept. 9 lock down, but didn’t receive any calls back.
“I called the high school, the superintendent (Janette Archuleta) and the assistant superintendant (Fidel Trujillo), and never heard back from any of them,” Rodney Benson said.
Rodney Benson said he wanted to find out if and when Jones would return to campus, as he did not feel comfortable returning his daughter to school with a student he felt threatened her life.
After 11 days of trying to contact administrators at the District, Rodney Benson said he was able to speak with Fidel Trujillo Monday, who told him District policy prevented him from revealing any disciplinary action against Jones. Fidel Trujillo did say the District would hold a special meeting Thursday (9/23) at 6 p.m. at the high school to address safety concerns.
“He said he could assure me that (Jolene) would be safe at school, and I asked him, ‘How?’” Benson said. “He told me that (Jones) would be out of school for the next couple of days until the meeting on Thursday.”
Protecting Privacy
Archuleta said neither she nor anyone else at the District could talk about specific disciplinary information related to Jones under the federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, which prohibits school districts from giving out personal information about students.
“All I can say is that we are following proper disciplinary procedure,” Archuleta said.
But the law does allow a school district to release information on disciplinary action against students who pose a “significant risk” to the safety of other students, teachers or the “educational community” as a whole.
Under Española’s disciplinary policies, students can be suspended for up to five days without approval of the superintendent, and up to 10 days with permission.
“This child needs help,” Cindy Benson said. “I think he needs to be away from the school for a while, not just seven or 10 days.”
Rodney Benson said he didn’t care about the District’s policies, but just wanted to make sure his daughter could feel safe attending school.
“This kid has the same profile as the kids who shoot up a school … and nobody wants to do anything until there’s a bunch of kids laying on the ground,” Rodney Benson said.
No Case
The District is not the only entity to have questionably handled the incidents involving Jones. District Attorney Angela Pacheco said she was unable to bring a case against the teenager for the list no matter how disturbed people were by it.
Jones was arrested Sept. 9 on the accusation he was planning to kill his classmates but cannot face prosecution for his private thoughts, Pacheco said.
“Your thoughts and what you do are two different things,” Pacheco said.
After the call to school security Sept. 9, police connected the threat to Jones, even though Española Police Sgt. Richard Gallegos said it was possible the threat was just a rumor. Jones was not in class that day; he was getting counseling at Ayudantes on North Riverside Drive when Gallegos arrested him.
Pacheco also said Española Police were incorrect in saying Jones “escaped” from St. Vincent Hospital after being sent there by police for a psychological evaluation Sept. 7. Pacheco said that accusation was important because it could have led to Jones being involuntarily committed.
Gallegos included the accusation about Jones escaping in his incident report of the resulting Sept. 9 lock down at the high school, but he did not return a call asking how he got the information. Staff with the records departments at Santa Fe City Police and the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department each said they had no report about an escape from St. Vincent, though the city police clerk said the report may not be turned in yet if it exists.
Gallegos corrects the escape information later in his report, stating he learned that Jones was released to his mother.
When Jones was interviewed Sept. 7 by Gallegos about the list, the student told police the pictures were scenes from a movie he was going to make and the names were a list of people who “bugged” him in school.
Police used that to file charges of aggravated assault and attempt to commit murder with the District Attorney’s office. Pacheco said there is nothing he could be charged with under state law, and the list is his first amendment right to free speech.
“What’s the crime?” Pacheco said. “Those are his thoughts.”
There is a section in state law for aggravated assault specifically dealing with threats. The law states someone commits assault when he or she acts in a threatening or menacing manner while wearing a hood, mask, robe or other covering on the face, head or body or while disguised in a manner to conceal his or her identity. Pacheco said this had to be a face-to-face threat.
“It has to put you in fear,” she said.
State law allows children to be involuntarily committed to a treatment center in an emergency, which is if the child is likely to cause serious bodily harm to himself or to others. That is only temporary until a children’s court can hold an involuntary commitment hearing, which needs to prove that the child needs and is likely to benefit from treatment, and that involuntary commitment is the least drastic option for the child. The court also has to consider other treatment options.
Pacheco said Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Padgett was consulting with a doctor — she would not say whom — about Jones’s treatment. Pacheco said no emergency hold was placed on Jones. An Española Police report states Jones was initially questioned by Gallegos and school psychologist Lloyd Vigil.
A message was left with Padgett seeking comment.
In his interview with Jones before his evaluation at St. Vincent, Gallegos states in his report that Jones said he did not think he was going to hurt or injure himself, but sometimes he did not know what he was thinking in his head. Cecilia Jones, his mother, said her son had violent tendencies and put his hands on her throat and then grabbed her arm, bruising it, during an argument about getting ready for school.
The second time Gallegos asked Jones if he would hurt anyone else, he said he did not know, the report states. When Gallegos asked a second time if he would hurt himself, Jones said that sometimes he thinks it’s the only way out.
Cecilia Jones would not confirm Tuesday if her son was home. She said her family has no comment but has retained legal counsel.