A 16-year-old Rio Rancho (N.M.) High School student is facing charges for allegedly urinating in an opposing team's water cooler.
As reported by CBS affiliate KRQE in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho Police said the teen is facing 15 counts of battery, which will be forwarded to Juvenile Probation and Parole. The teen is a member of the Rio Rancho High School junior varsity baseball team and was playing against La Cueva when the incident is said to have occurred.
In an email to sent parents by La Cueva principal Darrell Garcia last Monday, the player in question admitted to urinating in the jug and some players drank from the contaminated water cooler, as reported by the Rio Rancho Observer. 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.
Rio Rancho Public Schools notified the Rio Rancho Police Department, which launched a criminal investigation. RRPS also suspended the team. For the time being, the C Team will take the place of the JV team while the incident is investigated, KRQE reported.
According to the Observer, Captain 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.
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."
