Judge seals information about teen suspects in murder investigation

Little is known about the two teenage suspects arrested as part of the ongoing investigation into the death of a local 14-year-old following an altercation at Second Street Park in Gypsum on April 24.

Jackson Davis, a freshman at Eagle Valley High School, died from injuries sustained during the altercationwhich involved several teenagers and occurred shortly before 10 p.m. The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office is investigating Davis’ death as a homicide.

Authorities arrested a suspect on the evening of the altercation. They announced the arrest of another suspect on May 4thbut information about the arrests and charges is sealed under an April 30 order from 5th Judicial District Judge Rachel J. Olguin-Fresquez.

It also remains unclear whether either suspect will be charged as an adult. For juveniles charged with crimes, Colorado law requires the public to have access to information about the identity of the suspect, the arresting agency, and the date, time and location of the arrest. A provision also provides that criminal charges may be filed against juvenile suspects charged with murder with a deadly weapon.

However, Colorado law also gives judges the ability to hide information about court proceedings from the public. Olguin-Fresquez’s order, issued six days after the initial arrest, requires all records related to the case to be kept under seal for 21 days.

Citing the ongoing investigation, Eagle County Sheriff James van Beek declined to say whether additional arrests would be made or to provide information about what led to the altercation in the park. District Attorney Heidi McCollum declined to answer questions about the two suspects and the charges against them, citing the judge’s suppression order.

What is clear is that both suspects are being held outside of Eagle County. Colorado has strict laws regarding the detention of minors, and there is no juvenile detention facility in the 5th Judicial District, which includes Clear Creek, Lake, Summit and Eagle counties.

School district response

Following the incident, the school district is working to ensure safety.

As students and staff returned from the district’s spring break on April 29, staff meetings were held at Red Canyon and Eagle Valley high schools. The tone and conversation was different at each school.

At Red Canyon, the conversation centered around school culture, Superintendent Philip Qualman said.

“As an alternative campus, they build their program around culture and make students feel like they belong and have a voice in what’s happening on their campus. So they started the day by addressing this culture and talking about how the children were feeling, what support they needed and how they want their school to move forward and heal from the incident,” he added.

The conversation at Eagle Valley was “very different” because the school community lost a student, he said.

“They talked to staff about how to discuss this in their classrooms, what support was available to them as educators, what resources were available to their students and how to address their questions,” he said.

Currently, these resources include existing school counselors and clinicians from Your Hope Center, as well as additional counselors deployed to provide more support in schools. They also share information about support and resources available outside of schools.

Qualman said at Wednesday’s Eagle County Schools Board of Education meeting that authorities are investigating the role cell phones or social media played in the alleged murder.

“I don’t know what they’ll find there, but I think there will be connections,” he said. “I know for a fact that cell phones and social media have played an enormous role following the events of the last two weeks, including the distribution of a disturbing video of his murder, the spread of rumors, and the increasing fear and anxiety in our community.”

As students returned to school on April 29, a false claim of another knife attack circulated. A criminal complaint has now been filed against a young person for making false reports after an investigation by the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office found no credible information or evidence that the attack had occurred.

On April 30, the district canceled a girls soccer game between Battle Mountain and Eagle Valley, with Qualman saying at Tuesday’s board meeting that the cancellation was based on the incorrect April 29 report.

In a phone call with the Vail Daily on Tuesday, he said decisions to cancel games would be made on a case-by-case basis, using “any information we get from law enforcement or tips or Safe 2 Tell reports.” .”

“We take this information seriously and investigate it with due care and make the decision based on the information we have,” he added.

As rumors continue to circulate in schools and on social media, the district is working to create a district-wide cell phone policy. Currently, all schools have their own cell phone policies.

“Parents, I ask you, we need your support on this issue,” Qualman said Wednesday of the policy. “Even if that means you don’t have instant communication with your child during the school day, we’ve gone thousands of years without instant communication with our children, and I think we’ll be fine with that.”

A draft of the policy will be reviewed by school leaders in the coming weeks before being presented to the Education Committee for approval.

The district currently monitors student internet usage in its buildings using a system called GoGuardian, which allows it to monitor search content and web pages accessed by students. Qualman, however, called this a “never-ending game of cat and mouse.”

He also noted that while he respects and understands staff and community members’ desire for more details, “when minors are involved, we are required by law to keep that information confidential from those students and their families.”

“We share what we can share, and when we can’t share anymore – either because we don’t have it or because we’re not allowed to share it – that’s just a situation where people have to learn to cope.” “, he added.

The county is working with both the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office on the homicide investigation.

Security upgrades were already in the works

The Eagle County School District has recently put efforts and resources into improving school safety.

In fall 2023, the district hired a third party to conduct a safety and emergency assessment to review its policies, procedures and facilities and to assess the overall safety of all of its schools. Employees were hired based on the recommendations of this report Tad Degen, a former school resource officer and retired Eagle County police officer, will assume the newly created role of security director.

With the November 2023 bond approval, it received $5 million for safety improvements throughout the district.

When considering the safety of schools, attention must be paid not only to things like cameras, infrastructure and cell phone or social media use, but also to the development of school culture, Qualman acknowledged.

“It’s about: How does it feel to be in school? Do we connect with children? Do they feel like they belong? Are they engaged? “What are we doing to make sure we’re taking advantage of all the support we have in this community, inside and outside of our schools?” he asked.

The next step in healing from this tragedy is ensuring schools are safe and secure and coming together to heal as a community, he added.