Eustace Texas Student Arrested Because Of RUMORS

Homeland security checkpoints, searching for strangers. Arresting citizens in cases like this.

For me, being European, this sounds like science-fiction. For you it is daily life. I hope your nephew get's out of this ordeal ok.

Heh, there were always rumors about me too.

In physics class, as a discussion about aerodynamics, I brought in a 30x30 round, separated from it's shell of course. How did I get it? I went through official channels, and the police donated me the forward slug from a bullet. Can't be fired, it's just the metal slug.

Anyhow, because of that, students thought I owned a 30x30 rifle... then the rumors started that I intended to use it at the school.

Of course, the teachers knew otherwise, so nothing was done regarding the rumors. But if I hadn't had a good report with my teachers, an investigation would likely have taken place.


I also experimented with various propulsion techniques... O2 mixed with Propane was one of my favorites, as you don't actually have to light it, the 02 self combusted with the friction in the combustion chamber.
Anyhow, that started rumors... people started suggesting I was making rockets... again, with the intention of using it on the school.


If that were present times... my behind would be sitting firmly in a jail cell. Simply because I had an interest in physics.


This really is disgusting. Get out of the US for crying out loud. There is no "land of the free" in the states. There are however, plenty of countries out there who have more freedoms than the US ever has.

Countries where the governments actually care about their people, and not the money they can get from lobbyists.

I am Chris's mother. Thank you Katie for making this post.

There are several other areas where information concerning this can be found as well:


first Fox4 news blog
community.myfoxdfw.com... om_of_Chris/2008/06/02/Remember_the_childhood_game_Telephone2#comments

Athens Daily Review Forum:
community.cnhi.com...

Fox4 blog concerning Chris' interview:
community.myfoxdfw.com... ris/2008/06/04/Interview_w_Eustace_HS_student#comments

As of the visit last night with Chris, he is still holding his head high. As stated many times throughout we all (Chris included) completely understand that things had to be checked out, especially with the past school shootings, but this just seems to have gone too far... simply on some supposed hit list that no one can produce as well as a statement or whatever. So, as someone mentioned earlier, yes this could happen to anyone by just someone making a police report on a rumor.

I got a call from my daughters school because she drew a stick figure holding a sword. She said is was supposed to be Jesus healing lepers with a magic sword. The were upset that it was frightening other students and staff.

reply to post by ElectroKate


Your nephew eh?

My advice to is the following:

Get Lawyer. Sue the crap out of the school district. Take a nice vacation.

reply to post by johnsky



ALL those FEARS were created by the system and injected into their brains...

State sponsored fear mongering...to control the kids and make more laws "for their protection"...





Nice to know you weathered the storm. How long ago was that?

The exact same thing happened to my boyfriend, once when he was in middle school and once when he was in high school. He made a comment, or started a list, or drew something, and the other kids wanted to be cool and rag on the "weird" kids and reported him for making threats.
High schoolers are insane, I know because about a year ago I was one. The high school environment is not a healthy one. If you want to fit in, you say something bad or do something bad to someone else. You hate on the "in" crowd, you hate on the "emo kids", you hate on the nerds or the teacher's pets or WHATEVER. To be liked in high school, you have to have someone to hate, and that causes people to make up horrible, horrible lies or blow things way out of proportion and spread it around without thinking.

I'm really sorry for your nephew. Get a lawyer and take that school apart.

I smell a big rat....

It seems that the government is jumping through a lot of hoops just to justify a search in someone's home.

Pretty soon any kid that plays hangman is going to justify a search in their parents home.

I remember playing cops and robbers when I was a little kid. Do the kids that play that now go through the risk of being detained, going through psychological evaluation, and having their homes searched?

Holy crap this is beyond slippery slope.

reply to post by BlueEyes


To me it sounds like a good ol' commie totalitarian state.

I was born i Europe at a time everybody DREAMED of going to America.

So happy to be European, and from a decent country.

Wutone, my friend..Its already happpend. Some poor 3rd grader during recess pointed his finger and said bang and was sumerily suspended and permanate record ruined because of it. He also had to go ,along with the family, to special classes by court order. What total BS our Acedemic system is today. They completely emasculate our male population with purpose. Total and complete BS!!!

Zindo

reply to post by The Nighthawk


Agreed with the minor exception of changing the word off in this sentence to on.

But, as usual, a few idiots off their meds (and oblivious parents not watching their kids) have ruined it for everyone.

Psych. med.s may actually cause this stuff.
www.truebooks.com...

Originally posted by projectvxn
reply to post by Quazga

 

Community concern? You don't get it do you? You used to need evidence to Jail someone. You used to need probable cause not RUMORS. This is a violation of due process. If they can do this to him they can do it to anybody. Even you, on rumors.

That's right- it is like the witch hunts of old. Kids (and even a lot of adults) dont think about how their actions will affect others in the long run. If they figure out that starting a rumor will get someone locked up they will do it to the girl who stole their boyfriend or the guy who looked at them the wrong way at lunch, etc. I always got picked on,too, and the kids thought I was a witch and a weirdo. If it were possible I would have been picked up for some of the stuff I said to them in response to their taunts. This is a frightening precedent. ITs like "The Crucible" in modern time.

reply to post by ElectroKate


he's going to be a rich boy after he sues the school...nowhere in the entire story was there any proof if he wrote something or even said anything involving a "hit list"...something smells, there simply has to be more to this story or he will be able to take a REAL EARLY retirement

'First they came for the Mulsims, and as im not a muslim, i didn't speak out. Then they came for the Christian right, and as i am not one of them i did not speak out. Then they came for the people who were different from the main stream, and i am the main stream and i did not speak out.

Then one night at 4 am they took me as an enemy of the state, held me for years without trial, tortured me, and as there was nobody left to speak out, i died a forgotten man'.


A warning for our times.

Like I said, there was never a hit list. && You are right, it is kinda like the Salem Witch Trials, where one kid started lying for attention, and when she got it, the others joined in. The kids in this case KNOW they are lying, or yes, they would be named publicly. Even before the school let out for summer, there were more rumors put out, such as "Oh, I heard he got out yesterday." There was even one PARENT on myspace that posted a bulletin that said he escaped from the Alternative school and that he was going to kill the kids. She called him a psycho and told everyone to call the news stations. The whole situation has blown out of proportion, so much in fact, that it shows how corrupt the world has become. It is really pathetic that the police can not see that he is innocent. Hell, one look at his face behind those plastic walls where I talked to him twice now, and I can TELL by his expression he is INNOCENT. He even said he forgave the people that are lying. && it's really sad that they still don't even feel any remorse for what they have done to him. He should get a good lawyer, but we don't have the funding for that. His attorney was even considering him guilty from the start. I mean, School's out for God's sake. Let him go!!!!

Im sorry sadly a lot of things in life are based on perception and it seems to me America is Paranoid, that is the perception im getting here.
Knee Jerk reactions to the slightest thing of course its because of past history ,believe me i can't see how you are going to stop this, because you take lawsuits out at a drop af a hat,,,,you see you have the benifit of hindsight now which is a two edged sword, for example in past tragedy's one wanted to look in to the mind of the young person TO FIND THE WARNING SIGNS how they were treated in school what movies they watched what they wrote on little bits of paper were they picked on etc .
So of course now if (God forbid)something was to happen and a list as such was found or a blog or a wisper to a friend or a rumer that was not Acted on ,,well heads will roll lawsuits at twenty paces etc etc. And i guess the school has to defend its self and cover their ass'es.
Believe me when i say to you all, I feel for every one of you as i love the USA but fear were you are heading.
To me American High schools look like a small towns So i beg to ask how many kids would you have in a standerd class As here in oz some schools have a fairly smallish classroom maybe in comparison to the USA i know it has been a bone of contention for a while here and i think our current government will address what the previous Gov started with lowering class sizes.
It seems like your whole Country is on tender hooks and frankly i dont blame you!
Peace to you all "yer"

Originally posted by Cyberbian
I got a call from my daughters school because she drew a stick figure holding a sword. She said is was supposed to be Jesus healing lepers with a magic sword. The were upset that it was frightening other students and staff.

What kind of pansy school does your daughter go to?

Zindo, that is because all the PC people out there want all of us in a nice neat package. If they had their way, we would have no guns, eat tofu and wheatgrass shakes, and everyone ould be forced to get along.

To OP. As everyone else has said, get a good lawyer, even if it costs a decent ammount. A good lawyer would probably do it pro bono just for the publicity they would get bringing the school board down, and getting your nephew rich.

Where we live, we are having trouble finding anyone to do it Pro Bono, especially when they all think he's guilty, and therefore has no case against the school.

Originally posted by ElectroKate
Where we live, we are having trouble finding anyone to do it Pro Bono, especially when they all think he's guilty, and therefore has no case against the school.

Sad to say, but welcome to the East Texas Justice System. It's part of the good old boy network.

How many lawyers are in the county? 6 or 8? All buddies rubbing elbows with the judge, probably using the jail as funding for the county.

I don't know that as a fact, but if the jail is federally funded, all it is is a nice money maker for the county. You'll see it as income on the county budget.

Has he seen a judge?
Or has he seen his lawyer?
Is he 18 yet?

Tell the lawyer and tell the court you want psych tests done.

Most often what happens is if the kid is turning 18 soon, they'll let him sit until he pleads out, or try him as an adult. The lawyer doesn't care. He's getting paid by the court no matter how much or how little he argues.

If he pleads out, the lawyer likely will write into the probation terms a fee for his services/or preparation of paperwork. That's about $900 more for the lawyer.

The county thinks this is a great deal. Because now the kid is paying probation fees as well!

Follow the money.

If it is a federally funded jail, every night he sits in that cell the county collects $100.

If he pleads out the lawyer charges him for paperwork.
Then the county collects probation fees.

It's a great racket for the county and the lawyer. Lawyers in small towns will not sue their friends and neighbors. And likely as not you aren't going to get a lawyer to come out of Houston or Dallas to help this kid.

He is now 19. And yes, you are right. They will not help him because they don't want to sue their friends. It's really unjust.