Multiple suspensions paint complicated portrait of Trayvon Martin



http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/26/2714778/thousands-expected-at-trayvon.html

Thousands of people gathered in Sanford to
demand an arrest in the case, as more details surfaced about the teen’s
suspensions in school.by Frances Robles




frobles@MiamiHerald.com

SANFORD --
As thousands of people gathered here to demand an arrest in the
Trayvon Martin case, a more complicated portrait began to emerge of a
teenager whose problems at school ranged from getting spotted defacing
lockers to getting caught with a marijuana baggie and women’s jewelry.The
Miami Gardens teen who has become a national symbol of racial injustice
was suspended three times, and had a spotty school record that his
family’s attorneys say is irrelevant to the facts that led up to his
being gunned down on Feb. 26. In October, a school police
investigator said he saw Trayvon on the school surveillance camera in an
unauthorized area “hiding and being suspicious.” Then he said he saw
Trayvon mark up a door with “W.T.F” — an acronym for “what the f---.”
The officer said he found Trayvon the next day and went through his book
bag in search of the graffiti marker.



Instead the officer reported he found women’s jewelry and a
screwdriver that he described as a “burglary tool,” according to a
Miami-Dade Schools Police report obtained by The Miami Herald. Word of
the incident came as the family’s lawyer acknowledged that the boy was
suspended in February for getting caught with an empty bag with traces
of marijuana, which he called “irrelevant” and an attempt to demonize a
victim.Trayvon’s backpack contained 12 pieces of jewelry, in
addition to a watch and a large flathead screwdriver, according to the
report, which described silver wedding bands and earrings with diamonds.Trayvon was asked if the jewelry belonged to his family or a girlfriend.

“Martin
replied it’s not mine. A friend gave it to me,” he responded, according
to the report. Trayvon declined to name the friend. Trayvon was
not disciplined because of the discovery, but was instead suspended for
graffiti, according to the report. School police impounded the jewelry
and sent photos of the items to detectives at Miami-Dade police for
further investigation. A lawyer for the dead teen’s family
acknowledged Trayvon had been suspended for graffiti, but said the
family knew nothing about the jewelry and the screwdriver.“It’s
completely irrelevant to what happened Feb. 26,” said attorney Benjamin
Crump. “They never heard this, and don’t believe it’s true. If it were
true, why wouldn’t they call the parents? Why wasn’t he arrested?”Trayvon, who was a junior at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School, had never been arrested, police and the family have said.

“We think everybody is trying to demonize him,” Crump said.

No evidence ever surfaced that the jewelry was stolen.

“Martin was suspended, warned and dismissed for the graffiti,” according to the report prepared by schools police.

That
suspension was followed four months later by another one in February,
in which Trayvon was caught with an empty plastic bag with traces of
marijuana in it. A schools police report obtained by The Miami Herald
specifies two items: a bag with marijuana residue and a “marijuana
pipe.”The punishment was the third for the teen. On Monday, the
family also said Trayvon had earlier been suspended for tardiness and
truancy.Trayvon was shot to death Feb. 26 while serving out his
suspension in Sanford, where his father’s girlfriend lives. A
neighborhood watch volunteer called the police to say he saw someone in a
hoodie who looked high on drugs, and was suspicious because he walked
too slowly in the rain. The unarmed teenager carried Skittles and iced
tea, and was talking to his girlfriend on the phone, records show.
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