Girl Accused of Spiking Her Teacher’s Coffee

NORTH HOLLYWOOD — Police have arrested a Madison Middle School student who allegedly spiked her teacher’s coffee with several drops of industrial solvent on a dare last month.

The student, a seventh-grade girl, was arrested at school Wednesday afternoon and booked at the North Hollywood Division of the Los Angeles Police Department on suspicion of assault with a caustic chemical, said Larry Hutchens, assistant chief of the Los Angeles Unified School District Police. She was later released to her parents.

The teacher, Douglas Brown, was not harmed in the incident.

“It appeared to be a prank and a dare,” Principal Joanna Kunes said. “It was a very unfortunate act on the part of the student and certainly a very uncomfortable and anxiety-producing experience for our teacher.”

The incident occurred in Douglas’ fifth period industrial arts class on Dec. 20--the last day before the start of a three-week winter break. The student allegedly placed “several drops to maybe a teaspoon” of blue chemical solvent used in the industrial arts program in the teacher’s coffee, Kunes said.

“Two 12-year-olds in a classroom, an impulse, a dare--and ultimately it occurred,” Kunes said.

Brown declined to answer several questions, but said he had placed the coffee on a workbench that is generally not used by students.

“It wasn’t located in a part of the room where they tended to work,” he said.

About 23 students were in class that day, Brown said, fewer than usual because of the upcoming holiday break.

While drinking the coffee, the teacher noticed a residue in the cup and suspected that the coffee might have been tainted, Hutchens said. Later that evening he underwent tests at a hospital and his suspicions were confirmed.

Brown suffered discomfort similar to heartburn, but otherwise was unharmed and was not forced to miss school as a result of the incident, Kunes said.

“He went to his doctor and had many, many tests run,” Kunes said. “We’re grateful there was nothing more.”

On Jan. 12, Brown filed a criminal report with the LAPD, and school police detectives visited the campus to investigate, Hutchens said. The investigation turned up little information, but later a staff member “heard or was given information that led us to the subject and she [student] admitted to administrators and to [school police] that she did it,” Hutchens said.

School administrators are still questioning students about the incident.

“We are continuing to investigate other students who may have known or witnessed what happened,” Kunes said. “It is an incident of great seriousness and a suspension will occur and may possibly be followed by expulsion. We have to go through all of our process to give the parents and the students their due process.”

Brown, who also teaches math and technology, said he did not sense any animosity from the girl.

“The child is a discipline problem but nothing severe,” he said. “She’s responded to me very well. I have done things so that she would get more attention in the classroom and I’ve had very good luck with that.”

Because the girl has been released to her parents, authorities have more time to file the case, Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Taklender said.

“The case will eventually work its way to this office if the police submit it for filing,” he said. “That could take several weeks.” In such cases the penalty depends on several factors, including the severity of the victim’s injuries, the child’s record and whether the child’s family can provide adequate supervision, said Merry Bridges, supervising deputy with the Los Angeles County Probation Department.

Penalties span a wide range, from community detention--in which the child remains in the home but must wear a monitoring device--to home probation, juvenile probation camp or the California Youth Authority.

The incident at Madison is similar to many local and national cases. Last May a 15-year-old Perris boy who was angry over his grades was arrested after allegedly spraying blackboard-erasing solution in his teacher’s tea. Also last year, two girls in San Bernardino County spiked their sixth-grade teacher’s Gatorade with rat poison. In that case a 12-year-old girl was sentenced to five years in a supervised care facility after pleading guilty.

In 1994, a Littlerock high school student pleaded no contest to assault with a deadly weapon after he poured cleaning solution in a teacher’s soda. The 15-year-old was sentenced to three to five months in a county probation camp, returned to his parents and placed on probation until the age of 18.