The principal and athletic director of Mesa (Ariz.) High School will not face charges or be prosecuted for failure to meet mandatory reporting requirements of a gun on campus.
According to 12 News, the Mesa police department investigated the two school leaders for failure to report a gun on campus. At the conclusion of that investigation, law enforcement submitted charges to the Mesa City Prosecutors’ office against both principal Kirk Thomas and athletic director David Klecka. However, the prosecutor’s office declined the request for charges.
Related: High School Principal, AD on Leave, Charged After Failing to Report On-Campus Gun Incident
The office did not provide a specific reason why the charges were declined, but AZ Family noted that Arizona’s mandatory reporting laws did not go into effect until after Feb. 2025.
“Although no specific reason was given for the ‘turn down,’ it usually occurs when there is insufficient evidence of unlawful conduct and there is no likelihood of a conviction,” criminal defense attorney Robert P. Jarvis told AZ Family.
Despite the lack of criminal charges against Thomas and Klecka, the Mesa Public Schools Governing Board last week voted not to renew their contracts. The vote was considered non-disciplinary and not a termination.
Thomas and Klecka originally came under fire for a Feb. 2025 incident in which several people were involved in an on-campus assault, allegedly brandishing a firearm. The attack took place around 8 p.m. following an after-hours soccer game. Campus security attempted to respond to the attack and call the police, but Klecka told them, “No, because then we’ll have 50,000 cops here.”
The following day, Mesa High School security guards contacted the school resource officer to report the incident. The guards claimed they later lost their jobs because of this decision. Mesa police began investigating the assault as soon as they were notified, but they were unable to contact the victim.
