Snow fort builders in court
By David McLaughlin / News Staff Writer
Thursday, January 27, 2005
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/lo...rticleid=88814
FRAMINGHAM -- Two Framingham teens were in court yesterday to face charges they trespassed on school property when they dug a snow cave out of a mound of plowed snow in the high school's parking lot.
Jenna Schroeder, 18, and Jason Osorio, 18, pleaded not guilty in Framingham District Court to charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct following their arrest Tuesday afternoon. They are due back in court Feb. 18 for a pretrial conference.
The two teens and their mothers rushed out of court after the brief hearing.
"I'm really distraught about the whole thing," Schroeder said, though she declined further comment.
Martha Osorio, Jason's mother, called the arrests "unfair" and said the two students were only playing in the snow.
"It's really ludicrous what happened to them," said Betti Schroeder, Jenna's mother.
Police say Schroeder, Osorio and a third student, Edwin Snead, ignored at least eight requests from the arresting officer, James Smith, to leave the parking lot where the snow cave was located. They were argumentative and rude as soon as Smith arrived, Framingham police spokesman Lt. Vincent Alfano said.
Snead told Smith the only reason the officer asked them to leave was because they were white and the officer was black, according to the police report.
"This just shows you the frame of mind these kids were in," Alfano said.
Snead, who was not arrested but was placed in Smith's cruiser during the incident, declined comment yesterday. Snead said Smith let him out of the cruiser and allowed him to drive home.
In an interview Tuesday afternoon, he insisted he and his two friends were about to leave the area when the officer arrested them. Smith, he said, was overly aggressive toward them.
Alfano said a school building and grounds employee notified police the students were building the snow cave, which had standing room for six people, according to Snead. Alfano called it a safety hazard and said police and school officials would have been negligent if they did not act.
"We're mandated to act on that. That's a clear safety hazard," he said.
A public works crew dismantled the cave after a firefighter inspected it to make sure no one else was inside.
David Copithorne, Snead's assistant Boy Scout master, said the Framingham High senior has extensive experience building snow caves. Snead is an Eagle Scout and hopes to attend the Air Force Academy next year.
"The kid knows what he's doing. This kid is a crackerjack," he said.
H-D 