Crime & Safety

Seaholm to Continue Racial Investigation into Summer as Courtney Thomas Case Proceeds

The former Seaholm senior will appear at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at his second pre-exam hearing at the 48th District Court.

Courtney Thomas, the 18-year-old former student charged with ethnic intimidation, is scheduled to appear in 48th District Court at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday for a second pre-exam conference.

Thomas was charged after he . If convicted, he faces up to two years in prison or a $5,000 fine. .

At a hearing held May 24, Thomas’s lawyer, Wendy Barnwell, received a continuance from Judge Diane D’Agostini of the pre-exam period in order to gather more information.

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"I hope to analyze this information to make a proper decision for my client," Barnwell said.

Back at Seaholm, spokeswoman Marcia Wilkinson said there are no new developments in the school’s investigation into the string of racial incidents that followed the initial discovery of the racist graffiti April 20. These incidents include more graffiti and racist notes discovered in an and the .

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for any tips concerning the five other incidents. Eugene Rogers, president of the North Oakland branch, emphasized that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People doesn’t want the remaining incidents swept under the rug now that a student has been apprehended in connection with one incident.

Wilkinson said that even though Friday is the last day of the school year, Seaholm will continue to investigate the case to its best of its abilities.

“Certainly, if we get more information, we’ll be following up on as it we get it,” she said.

In order to prevent similar incidents, in the hallways and common areas of the high schools. There are currently 23 security cameras at Groves and 19 at Seaholm, all installed at main entry doors and in parking lots. A proposed plan could put 36 cameras at Groves and 29 at Seaholm as early as this September.

Thomas, who was a senior at Seaholm when the incident occurred, graduated but was barred from walking in the . As part of his bond agreement, Thomas has a 7 p.m. curfew and must stay away from Seaholm and the four students targeted in the April 20 graffiti.


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