‘Assault’ at Archbishop Hanna High School leads to juvenile felony charges against 2

A classroom 'cypher' – or, informal rap jam – held at Archbishop Hanna High School preceded an altercation between several students on Monday, July 29, which resulted in serious injury and two juvenile felony assault citations.

According to sources at Hanna, an off-campus group came to visit a classroom to demonstrate cypher story-telling. A student who was not in the class entered the room during the lunch break and, as confirmed by the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office, a fight erupted between two of the boys in the classroom and the newcomer.

An administrator jumped into the fight and pulled the two aggressors off the boy, but according to sources at Hanna, a third aggressor then hit the boy in the head. One source called the altercation an 'assault, not a fight.'

Brian Farragher, director of Hanna Boys Center, characterized the incident as an altercation. 'There was a confrontation between two boys and, when they squared off, two other boys jumped in and struck one of the guys involved,' wrote Farragher in an email to the Index-Tribune. 'It appears these guys targeted the other as a result of some pre-exiting conflict around a girl.'

Added Farragher: 'The altercation was broken up quickly.'

The victim was taken to the school's emergency clinic with a swollen nose and extensive bleeding.

The incident took place at approximately 12:30 p.m. Co-principal Courtney Jackson, called to report the incident at 4:17 p.m., according to department records.

The school first contacted the parents of the students involved, and the parents of the boy 'who was struck did not want to press charges, but wanted the sheriff to speak with the boys involved,' said Farragher.

According to the Sheriff's Office, two juvenile males, ages 15 and 16, were cited for felony battery resulting in serious injury. The citation means the boys will need to appear at the juvenile justice center at Los Guilicos at a later date. They remained at Hanna Boys Center.

According to Sonoma County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Spencer Crum, investigators were in possession of a cell phone video and only three boys in total were involved, including the victim. Though eye-witnesses said a third assailant was involved in the assault, deputies did not have evidence and made no further charges.

'The staff are working with the boys to do some restorative work and sort through the conflict,' said Farragher. 'When kids engage in behaviors like this it is certainly a call for closer supervision for the boys involved. They will be watched more closely and may not be able to participate in activities that require less supervision.'

The call to the Sheriff's Office came from co-principal Jackson, who was said to be the administrator who broke up the fight. Jackson was tapped to fill the co-principal role in May, along with David Yale, when Mike Ruyle assumed the role of Director of Education on a part-time basis.

NOTE: This article corrects the record on Courtney Jackson's role as co-principal of Archbishop Hanna High School.