EscondidoEscondido — Two San Pasqual High School students suspended last month after authorities found knives locked in their trucks in the school parking lot will learn next week whether they’ll be expelled.
Dozens of students, parents and teachers gathered outside the Escondido Union High School District offices on Friday while separate istrative hearings were held for the boys, 16-year-old Sam Serrato and 18-year-old Brandon Cappelletti.
Each hearing took roughly four hours, with Serrato’s in the morning and Cappelletti’s in the afternoon.
“I’m glad there is . We are truly a good family,” said Serrato’s father, Sal, after emerging from his son’s hearing.
Cappelletti’s hearing ended shortly before 5 p.m. and he appeared relieved that it was over. The teen has already enlisted in the Marine Corps, following in his father and grandfather’s footsteps, and had expressed concern over how the incident might affect his future.
“I’m feeling very confident,” he said after the hearing. “I’m excited to go and finish high school and hopefully after this serve my country.”
The two teens ran afoul of school rules on Jan 27 when drug-sniffing dogs in the San Pasqual High parking lot alerted on Serrato’s GMC Yukon and a Ford Ranger, owned by Cappelletti.
No drugs were found in either vehicle, but both boys had brought Advil to school that day. When authorities searched their vehicles, they found a pocket knife in Serrato’s glove compartment and three knives in Cappelletti’s truck — two in the center console and one behind the seat. The older teen said he had tossed them there after a family fishing trip earlier in the month.
The discoveries led to automatic suspensions for each of the boys, and the possibility of expulsion, or a lesser sentence pending the outcome of separate investigations.
The istrative indicated the boys would know by Wednesday what the recommendation would be to the Escondido Union High School District Board of Trustees, which has the final say in the case.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Serrato said after his hearing. “I said what I have to say in there. Hopefully, this is all over soon.”
Stephen Cook, the attorney representing Serrato, said his client told an Escondido police officer on the day of the incident that he had the knife in his truck’s glove compartment for protection — a statement the attorney said was a misunderstanding. Serrato’s father told had previously reporters that he put the knife in the truck two weeks ago after buying it at a swap meet.
“Sam was truthful in the hearing,” Cook said. “He was under stress and had never been interrogated before. He never intended it to be for his personal protection.”
Cappelletti’s attorney, David Wight, said he felt the hearing went well and that he made the case that his client should not be expelled.
“This guy has not hurt anybody,” Wight said. “Hopefully level heads will prevail.”
The hearings for both boys had been initially been planned for Feb. 25, but were moved up amid a public outcry over the fate of the two students.
As Serrato exited his session Friday, Cappelletti and his family were entering the building. Seratto’s mother, Yvonne, stopped briefly to hug the older teen.
“We’re going through the same thing,” she said when asked why she embraced him.
Many in the crowd who gathered outside the building said they wanted to the teens that they feared that school zero-tolerance rules had run amok.
“I think this is ridiculous for something like this to happen to Sam,” said Javier De La Cruz, a junior at San Pasqual and Serrato’s best friend. “He’s a good person. He tries his best, and does everything to the best of his ability to not disappoint his parents.”
“It’s dumb,” said Allen Valdovinos, a 17-year-old junior at San Pasqual who plays on the football team with Serrato. “It’s smart to have the dogs, but Advil, really? Half the school carries Advil with them.”
Those who testified in the morning hearing included San Pasqual football coach Tony Corley and Christine Shulz, who owns the San Diego franchise for Interquest Detection Canines, a security company that uses drug-sniffing dogs.
It was Schulz’ golden Labrador that was working the San Pasqual High parking lot on Jan. 27 and alerted authorities that drugs might be inside.
Schulz said the company doesn’t “reinforce or train” its dogs to alert on Advil, but it’s within the dog’s capability to detect it. She said the dog can’t tell its handler with 100 percent accuracy what it is smelling.
Corley said he testified about Serrato’s character on Friday.
“He’s an asset to our school,” the coach said. “I can trust him. He needs to be reinstated. Sam isn’t a detriment to the campus.”
Corley also filed a declaration in Cappelletti’s case.
“Here’s a kid who want to be a Marine,” he said. “I don’t think he is a threat to anyone. He wants to defend our country.”
The three-person overseeing the Friday hearings is made up of unidentified certificated staff — and a former staff member — who are not associated with the San Pasqual school, Escondido high school district Superintendent Steve Boyle.
He said that disciplinary actions involving students are confidential matters.
“We are aware that the recent suspension .. has ignited many emotions not only for the students and their families, but for the community,” Boyle said. “The education and safety of all students remains our top priority.”
In addition to facing expulsion, Cappelletti has been cited with a misdemeanor under a state law that forbids anyone from bringing onto a school campus a knife with a blade longer than two-and-a-half inches. A conviction could mean a maximum one-year prison sentence, an outcome that’s unlikely for a student without prior offenses.
Because he is a minor, Serrato would be referred to a diversionary program where he would perform community service, officials said.
The families of both boys have said even expulsion would change their lives. Serrato, a standout athlete, had hoped to play football at a four-year university after he graduates next year. Cappelletti is set to report for boot camp summer.
