Questions raised after differences in school's punishment for teen and boy

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A high school student shot a pellet gun at school and hit a student but remained on campus, and now we're hearing about a 10-year-old boy who was taken to juvenile detention. Because of these two incidents, families have some questions for Cy-Fair ISD when it comes to how it disciplines its students.

The 10-year-old boy's family says he was taken into custody Wednesday at Emmott Elementary School. They're asking whether the school district is equally applying its own zero-tolerance discipline policy.

Anna Patterson says she watched in disbelief Wednesday as her 10-year-old great-grandson was hauled away from Emmott Elementary to juvenile detention.

"I was really hurt," she said. "I couldn't believe that they were going to, you know, take him down. I was really hurt."

Cy-Fair ISD says Darrin Banks caused chaos inside his classroom. They accuse him of vandalizing school property. A district spokesperson also says, "Assaulting a public servant is against the law."

However she couldn't say if the teacher was hurt. Still, compare this incident to that which we reported at Cy Creek High School just a day ago. A student there was neither detained nor expelled, even though he allegedly shot another student on campus in the face with a pellet gun. The district tells us a pellet gun is not on a list of prohibited weapons in the student handbook.

Patterson doesn't see equal application of discipline in these cases.

"I would have thought that they would've been arrested," she said.

Patterson admits Banks has been suspended repeatedly from school. The school district meantime says there are "some inaccuracies in the information" Patterson is claiming. Privacy laws however prohibit Cy-Fair ISD from specifying what those might be.

Patterson says her great-grandson has ADHD and takes medication for it. The 10-year-old Banks remained in custody Thursday night at the juvenile justice center downtown. Privacy laws keep officials from telling us what charges, if any, he actually faces. A court hearing is set for Friday morning.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Jury deliberates punishment for ex-cop rapist

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A Harris County jury is deliberating the punishment for a former officer convicted of rape. The one person who may be able to spare Abraham Joseph from a life sentence took the stand on Friday.

The ex-Houston police officer convicted Thursday of sexually assaulting a cantina waitress couldn't stop the tears from flowing on Friday during the closing arguments of his punishment trial.

It was the same emotion Abraham Joseph, who displayed a gun during that rape, showed in court Friday while his wife was on the stand asking the jury for leniency in assessing punishment. She told the jury she met her husband through an arranged marriage.

"The first thing that attracted me was that he was very spiritual," she said.

Choking back tears, she also testified, "He admitted to me he had sex. He was very, very, very upset. He would pray to God. I have forgiven him."

"He is the backbone of my family," she added.

One after another, family and friends including leaders in Joseph's Catholic church also testified on his behalf -- a much different story from Thursday, when three other cantina waitresses described how they say Joseph raped them as well.

Now it is up to the jury to decide his punishment for what he did. The defense is asking for probation.

"When you go in that jury room and you get out your pen and you start to read the jury charge, what you have in your hands is the life of another human being," said defense attorney Nicole DeBorde. "That's a huge responsibility."

The state is asking for life in prison.

"What he is deep down inside and what he will always be is a serial rapist," prosecutor Heyward Carter told the jury. "Do not be afraid to look at him for what he is."

Joseph was convicted of two counts of aggravated sexual assault on Thursday. His punishment could range from five years to life in prison.

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Teen's punishment goes viral on Internet

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A local mother found an unusual way to punish her young daughter who got into the family's liquor cabinet and posted a picture of herself - with a bottle - online. Now, her punishment is going viral.

You've heard of judges sentencing convicted defendants to stand at the scene of their crime with a sign. This is the social media equivalent.

Like most parents do -- or should -- ReShonda Tate Billingsley had the big talk with her daughter about the do's and don'ts of social media.

"You know what's right and wrong, no inappropriate pictures of you half naked. Inappropriate pictures are what I called them," Tate Billingsley said.

Just over a week ago, she learned the lesson didn't take when her daughter posted a photo on the tween picture-sharing site Instagram. She was posing with an unopened bottle of vodka captioned "Wish I could drink this."

"Even though we'd had the conversation, her friends were posting much worse than that so in her mind this was tame, I'm not doing anything," Tate Billingsley said.

Mom disagreed and this was the consequence -- another picture of her daughter, her face not shown, holding a sign that read "Since I want to take pictures holding liquor, I'm obviously not ready for social media and will be taking a hiatus until I learn what is and isn't appropriate to post. Bye-bye." Then Billingsley hit send to her daughter's Instagram site and her own Facebook page.

"If social media is where you wanna show out, then social media is where you'll get shown out," Tate Billingsley said.

It went viral on Facebook as her friends shared it 11,000 on the first day. Billingsley said her daughter had a melt down on Day 1. By Day 2, she was reading parents' posts on her mom's Facebook page in support of the punishment.

"And she was just like 'Wow, I didn't really think about this,'" Tate Billingsley said.

"There's a better way and that's building on positive things, helping kids make better choices and understanding consequences," said Dr. John Vincent, a University of Houston professor and clinical psychologist.

Tate Billingsley says her daughter is now planning to start counseling her social media friends about what's acceptable behavior, although she did tear up the sign that her mom made.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Drunken driver's public punishment suspended

  HOUSTON -- Although a drunken driver has been temporarily allowed to stop wearing a sign saying he killed a young man, the victim's supporters are rallying to make sure the community remembers the dangers of driving while intoxicated.

Some passers-by were hostile to Michael Giacona last weekend when he stood at the site of the crash with a sign reading "I Killed Aaron Coy Pennywell While Driving Drunk." Giacona ran a red light last June and hit 20-year-old Pennywell's vehicle.

It was the first of four Saturdays that Giacona, 39, had been ordered to stand all day at the intersection. He also spent 90 days in jail after the fatal crash, was placed on two years' probation and must wear an ankle-monitoring device, according to court records.

On Friday, Harris County Court-at-Law Judge Michael R. Fields ordered that for his safety, Giacona would stop the public punishment and his sentence would be re-evaluated this week.

Pennywell's relatives and friends gathered Saturday at the intersection, where the victim's smashed black Mustang was displayed to serve as a warning of the dangers of drinking and driving. They said they didn't want people to forget, since Giacona was absent from the site.

"It is just disheartening that he's just going to get a slap on the hand again and walk away," Lisa Dentler told the newspaper.

The victim's mother, Kae Pennywell, said she didn't know the people who had cursed at Giacona the previous weekend.

"The judge put him out there for public humiliation," she said. "He should have expected some of that. But nobody threatened his life."

Pennywell was taping together a medley of signs along the fence of the crash site. One was a large portrait of her son, which the family puts there for holidays and plans to leave on the fence until graduation as a reminder to young drivers, she said.

Locals pitched in their support by making an appearance at the crash site, and many -- including some who don't know the family -- said they planned to return next weekend.

"It could have been one of my kids," said Karon Frigo. "It could have been anyone's kid."

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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