Testimony: Son was repeatedly threatened, afraid to go to school before March 1 fight at Montgomery High School

The father of the former Montgomery High School freshman accused of fatally stabbing a 16-year-old junior during a March 1 fight said his son was repeatedly threatened before the incident.

Taking the stand Tuesday during his son’s ongoing voluntary manslaughter trial in Sonoma County Juvenile Court in Santa Rosa, Jesus Pulido said students threatened to “jump” his son Daniel Pulido as he geared up to return to school on March 1 following a five-day suspension.

A photo sent to Daniel Pulido by a classmate showed his name scrawled in a bathroom and the letter “k” next to his name, which his father said indicated he was “marked for death.”

Jesus Pulido said his son was reluctant to return to school and feared for his life.

He detailed a series of escalating disputes between his son and other students that led to the March 1 fight during the defense’s second day of testimony in the Santa Rosa boy’s ongoing trial.

Daniel Pulido’s attorney Jonathan Steele began to present his client’s case on Monday saying he would call a number of witnesses over the course of the week to prove Pulido was a good student before he started at Montgomery High School, where he was subjected to “a threatening environment” that impacted his behavior and mental health.

A series of disputes with two 16-year-old boys, Jayden Pienta and Juan Cruz, including a previous fight with Cruz where Pulido’s nose was broken, according to Steele, led to the fatal fight in an art class on March 1.

During that fight, according to officials, Pulido stabbed Pienta with a 4- to 5-inch folding knife once in his chest and twice in his back.

Police never recovered the knife.

Pulido, who was 15 at the time of the incident, has pleaded not guilty to voluntary manslaughter and having a weapon on campus.

Jesus Pulido testified Tuesday that his son’s demeanor changed when he entered high school. He wasn't excited and his grades were slipping, the elder Pulido said.

"He was no longer excited or happy to go to school," he told the court.

Following the Feb. 7 fight with Cruz, Daniel Pulido came home with two black eyes and a bloody nose, his father said.

His added that the school failed to notify him or his wife about the altercation or that his son had been suspended until the school sent a letter the following Tuesday.

Jesus Pulido said he and his family decided to take a spontaneous snow trip to South Lake Tahoe that weekend to try to unwind.

But the trip went poorly after Daniel crashed head first into a tree while sledding, his father said.

Daniel, his father testified, was taken to the emergency room and diagnosed with a severe concussion. Doctors told the family Daniel could suffer permanent damage or die if he were to suffer another head trauma. The doctor recommended no strenuous activity or sports for up to eight weeks, Jesus Pulido said.

Pulido said the family worried that if Daniel returned to school and got into another altercation it could have serious health impacts.

Ten days later, on Feb. 21, Daniel Pulido was suspended after another fight.

Jesus Pulido and his son met with then Principal Adam Paulson on Feb. 28 ahead of his son’s expected return to classes to discuss issues at school, including repeated tardies and missing classes. Paulson suggested Daniel enroll in violence prevention classes.

Pulido said he raised concerns with Paulson that his son had been threatened and that most of the prior incidents were a result of his son defending himself.

Pulido said he and his wife had connected to their son’s phone and were able to see texts and other activity. He said they saw a handful of threats, including the message written in the bathroom.

Paulson told them if Daniel felt he was in danger to go to the nearest classroom or office and he would be safe, Jesus Pulido said.

Daniel returned to school the next day but expressed to his father he felt uneasy.

Pulido said he called Daniel around 10:42 a.m. to check in as he was getting ready for work and they spoke for less than two minutes. He told him to be careful and to go to class if he felt scared.

"I made him go to class,“ he said, choking on his words.

He said called Daniel again around 11 a.m. but his son didn't answer. The family learned shortly after that that the school was on lockdown.

But the prosecution, led by Sonoma County Deputy District Attorney Jason Riehl, sought to question why Jesus Pulido hadn’t told Paulson about the concussion if he was worried his son could have permanent injuries or why he wasn’t taken to the hospital for evaluation after the Feb. 21 fight.

Riehl also questioned why Pulido’s parents hadn’t alerted authorities or school officials about the threats and why the issue didn’t come up during the police interview following his son’s arrest on March 1.

“It’s a chaotic situation we’re going through,” Jesus Pulido said, adding that it was a lot of information to keep track of but that he and his wife had screenshots of the threats and had documented the incidents.

You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or paulina.pineda@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @paulinapineda22.