An Indianapolis mother has been charged with multiple felonies after police say she boarded a school bus with her two children and beat up an eighth grader, breaking the boy’s nose.
Prosecutor Ryan Mears said the mother not only punched the victim but was the clear instigator in the fight.
“When parents make the decision to get on a school bus, when they have no business being on a school bus, you can either serve as a peacekeeper or make the situation 20-30 times worse,” Mears said.
The altercation, which took place March 6 on the way to school, was captured by several video cameras on the bus. It shows the woman, 36-year-old Latea Hentz, boarding the vehicle behind her two children: a son, 13, and daughter, 17. When the driver tells her parents aren’t allowed on the bus, Hentz advises she call police.
Her two children, meanwhile, had already began attacking the 14-year-old.
Hentz is then seen walking down the aisle toward the fight while yelling “beat his ass, beat his ass.” The 36-year-old joins in the beatdown, throwing several punches at the student and pulling his hair.
One student can be heard saying, “Hey, don’t jump him. Why are you jumping him?”
Hentz replies with a threat, telling the other students on the bus, “I’m going to tear this up. I’m tired of you b**** a** kids. Anybody want to get active?”
Security footage showed the trio exiting the bus shortly after the fight. As he walks down the aisle, the 13-year-old can be seen exchanging high-fives with the other students.
Hentz is charged with criminal confinement, battery resulting in moderate injury, intimidation and criminal trespass — all felonies. Her two children also face undisclosed charges, according to local outlets.
Their mother told police her son had not been acting like himself lately due to an “ongoing bullying situation.” The 13-year-old later told officers the school was aware of the bullying but had done nothing to stop it.
The boy she attacked disputed Hentz’s allegation that he had hit her 13-year-old son the day before the bus attack, telling officers he sometimes jokes with the younger boy but that nothing physical ever took place.
The 14-year-old boy’s mother later told police that her son was half-Mexican and had recently been subjected to racist jokes about Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents deporting him.
The bus driver told officers that on the day before the fight, the two boys had reported potential bullying on the bus.
Hentz’s son reportedly told the driver that he had been slapped by an eighth grade student. The older boy then told the driver that the 13-year-old had been making racist comments. The driver said she reported the incident to school administrators.
According to court documents, a Warren Township Schools officer said the 14-year-old sustained a cut and swelling around his left eye. The student’s mother said doctors at Riley Hospital for Children determined her son’s nose had been fractured as well.
“Parents have the responsibility to protect our children, not harm them. We must ensure a safe and respectful environment for our students,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a news release.
Hentz has been ordered to stay away from the 14-year-old victim and she is prohibited from visiting any property or buildings owned by Warren Township schools.
“Adults need to be adults,” he continued. “If there’s a conflict between students, that’s something that can be resolved through kids and if parents need to be involved the resolution is going to administrators. It’s not taking matters into your own hands and engaging in violence.”
