Seven Central Valley High students arrested in beating, threatening of classmate

A group of Central Valley High School teens are facing serious charges for beating and repeatedly harassing and threatening a 15-year-old classmate.

Ceres police got involved on Jan. 10 when a 15-year-old boy and three 14-year-old boys chased down and attacked the victim in front of a market on Central Avenue about three blocks from the high school, said Sgt. Jose Berber.

The boys repeatedly punched and kicked the victim, causing bruising to his face and a laceration to his knee that required staples.

The victim identified the suspects, and all four were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and released to their parents.

But after the arrests, the 15-year-old suspect, who had instigated the attack, continued to harass the victim and threaten him on Snapchat in an effort to dissuade him from testifying, Berber said.

Last week, he sent a video on Snapchat, in which he was with three others, two 15-year-olds and a 16-year-old, threatening to harm the victim. A white vehicle was seen in the video.

The next day at about 3 a.m., the victim was asleep in his home when he heard banging on a window, then the window shattering, Berber said.

The victim and his mother saw the white vehicle that was in the Snapchat video driving away from their home. They drove to the Ceres Police Department and on the way saw the white car. All four people who were in the video were inside the vehicle, Berber said.

The investigating officer learned the 15-year-old had sneaked out of his home and taken the car. He was eventually arrested.

During an interview with police, the suspect identified the other three teens who were in the car.

All four were arrested on suspicion of witness intimidation, conspiracy to commit a crime and vandalism, Berber said. All were released to their parents. School officials were notified about all seven students’ arrests, Berber said.

This story was originally published January 31, 2017 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Seven Central Valley High students arrested in beating, threatening of classmate."