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Criminal charges announced for RRHS JV baseball player
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RIO RANCHO — A member of the Rio Rancho High School junior varsity baseball team who allegedly urinated into the water cooler of the La Cueva High School baseball team is facing 15 counts of battery, the Rio Rancho Police Department announced Friday.
The 16-year-old, who was not named in a news release issued by the police department, is facing the charges in connection to an RRHS home game against La Cueva High School March 25. The charges will be forwarded to Juvenile Probation and Parole, the release said. The police department added that it could not release further details, citing an active investigation involving a minor.
Capt. Jacquelynn Reedy, public information officer with the Rio Rancho Police Department, stated in a news release that Rio Rancho Public Schools "takes this matter very seriously and is fully cooperating with law enforcement."
"The district remains committed to upholding the highest standards of conduct among our student-athletes and will take appropriate action in accordance with district policies and legal guidelines," the release said, though school district officials told the Observer it was not involved in the police department's statement.
Albuquerque Public Schools spokesperson Martin Salazar said in a statement that the district is glad authorities recommended charges.
"Outrageous behavior like this must be met with swift consequences to send the message that it's unacceptable and will not be tolerated," Salazar said, while adding, "a vast majority of athletes, coaches and parents at schools in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and throughout New Mexico abide by good sportsmanship. We're confident this unfortunate incident is an aberration."
The police department launched the investigation after La Cueva officials heard allegations about the student’s conduct at the game and reached out to RRPS, which informed law enforcement.
The announcement of charges come after Rio Rancho Public Schools announced that the entire team had been suspended from the program pending investigations from both the police department and the school district. Though the police department did not provide more information about the case earlier in the week, the player in question admitted to urinating in the jug, La Cueva Principal David Garcia told families in a letter on Monday. Garcia also apologized to La Cueva families for the student’s behavior and urged them to consult a physician if they think their child drank from the jug.
Wyndham Kemsley, RRPS interim executive director of communications, said Friday that the school district's investigation remains ongoing and referred back to his previous statement that if the allegations were found to be true, “discipline for all those involved will be severe."
The district also informed the New Mexico Activities Association of the incident, Kemsley said. On Wednesday, J.P. Murrieta, NMAA sports information director, said his organization is "aware of the situation and is working with RRPS as they finalize the investigation."
