Wearing a blue suit and carrying a single rose in his hand, 11-year-old Timothy Murray emerged from the Cameron County juvenile court earlier today to loud cheers from supporters gathered outside. About four dozen members from the Rio Grande Valley community group Divest/Invest RGV joined a protest outside the courtroom and on their livestream, chanting: “Classrooms, not courtrooms!,” “Homework, not handcuffs!” “Education, not incarceration!,” and “Free, free Timothy!”
After Timothy struggled for nearly half a year through a succession of what his mom says were retaliatory actions by Brownsville Independent School District officials, district police, and county prosecutors, Cameron County Judge Adela Kowalski-Garza dismissed criminal charges against Timothy, finding the prosecutors lacked probable cause.
“We had a good judge who really looked at the facts, or lack thereof, and made a strong and smart decision. But this was with zero help from the district attorney’s office, who are at fault for even pursuing this case in the first place and then not investigating it,” defense attorney Sara Stapleton Barrera said.
Last November, the Texas Observer was first to report on Timothy’s ordeal, which started in September after the fifth-grader questioned Palm Grove Elementary School Principal Myrta Garza about why there was no school counselor and then sent an email to then-Superintendent René Gutiérrez, reporting that Garza was “picking on” him thereafter. What ensued was his arrest, three days of solitary confinement, a misdemeanor offense charge alleging that Timothy threatened to kill the principal, and threats of a second charge for aggravated assault, a second-degree felony, which could result in juvenile jail time.
For the third time since Timothy’s hearing was originally scheduled for November 8 last year, the district attorney’s office today requested more time to gather evidence on the charges, arguing they had probable cause for both charges based on unsubstantiated testimony from a student. Judge Kowlaski-Garza disagreed and shot down the request.
“If they refile a suit against Timothy, even though the judge has said that she finds no probable cause in either of the cases, it’s simply retaliation.”
Mother Nadia Rincon told the Observer she was relieved by the judge’s decision today, but still wary. According to Barrera, District Attorney Luis Saenz can still refile a petition for the first misdemeanor charge within the next two years and a second charge for felony assault within the next five years. That means the county could still bring charges against Timothy up until he is 16 years old.
“If they refile a suit against Timothy, even though the judge has said that she finds no probable cause in either of the cases, it’s simply retaliation. They don’t want to admit that they were the wrongdoers or didn’t take the correct action in this case,” Barrera said.
Rincon has appealed to the district superintendent, district board members, and the Texas Education Agency. Despite the district’s promise to investigate her complaints of retaliation and wrongdoing by school officials, Rincon has heard nothing. The Texas Education Agency kicked her complaint back to the district.
Last December, Rincon pulled Timothy out of school and began homeschooling him, fearing further retaliation by district officials.
The family feels as if their lives have been put on hold. Timothy said he finishes his online classes by noon these days and then plays video games. He’s studying geometry in math and soil erosion in science, but he no longer gets to participate in the extracurricular activities he enjoyed before—science fairs, chess competitions, and accelerated academic programs after school. That’s what he misses the most. Leading up to the hearing, Rincon said he had been waking up in the middle of the night from nightmares of being locked up in jail.
“I can’t really see what’s ahead of me. It’s like everything went dark.”
The once bright-eyed kid, who before recounted his plans to enter the district’s gifted and talented program, study medicine in college, and pursue a career as an oncologist, speaks more timidly these days. A couple of days before the hearing, he told me, “I can’t really see what’s ahead of me. It’s like everything went dark.”
Rincon said that now that the charges have been dismissed, she’s planning on saving money to move out of Brownsville so that Timothy can attend a different school district, start over, and hope again.
But tonight, she’s celebrating with supporters who have vowed to hold the Cameron County district attorney and Brownsville ISD accountable for what they say is a pervasive practice of criminalizing young children. The Observer previously reported that Brownsville ISD made 3,102 student arrests over a recent two-and-a-half-year period; 76 of those arrests were of students 10 to 11 years old.
Rincon agrees that what happened to Timothy is not an isolated incident. She said more parents need to speak up for change to happen.
“Many parents don’t say anything because they’re told by prosecutors that if they keep silent, agree with whatever they say, no one is going to find out. As parents, we all fear for our kids. But they take advantage of the silence. We need to stand up because what’s happened to Timothy and other children is not right.”
