Case dismissed against student charged with assault

The case against a 10-year-old special needs student charged with the aggravated assault of a teacher was dismissed Tuesday in Yuma County Juvenile Court.

The boy, a fourth-grader at Valley Horizon School, was diagnosed as incompetent to stand trial by a court-appointed psychologist, Dr. John C. Hollebeek.

The student has Tourette syndrome as well as other medical disabilities, according to the court and the boy's medical history.

Judge Denise Gaumont dismissed the case after reviewing the evaluation in a status hearing Tuesday afternoon.

"The court does find, based on the information provided in the report, that the juvenile is not competent nor is restorable to competency within the mandatory time period," Gaumont said in court.

The case stems from an incident on April 13. According to a report from the Yuma Police Department, the boy allegedly hit and kicked his teacher and used "vulgar language" at Valley Horizon after being told he needed to wait until the "appropriate time" to use the restroom.

The police were called and the teacher pressed assault charges against the boy.

The teacher, whose name was not identified in the report, did not require medical attention.

The school suspended the boy for two days and then allowed him to return to school, according to Crane Elementary School District spokesman Chris Weigel.

The student's defense attorney, Michael Donovan, made the motion at a hearing on April 17 to have his client found incompetent. The prosecutor in the case, Mark Hessinger, agreed to dismiss the charges after the psychologist's evaluation.

The juvenile was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome in December 2005, according to Donovan.

Tourette syndrome is a disorder that begins before age 18 and is characterized by multiple motor and vocal tics, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The uncontrollable use of inappropriate words or phrases, such as expletives, is one symptom.

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Sarah Reynolds can be reached at sreynolds@yumasun.com or 539-6847.