Suspect arrested in assault of two school employees
The man wanted for punching the principal of Hancock Elementary School was arrested early Sunday after he was found asleep in the garage of person who did not know him, Las Vegas police said.
Ronnie Ray Parker, 39, was arrested on several warrants, including two counts of battery on a school employee, Las Vegas spokesman Ramon Denby said Tuesday.
Parker is alleged to have hit two school employees during an after-school event Sept. 26 at Hancock Elementary School.
Hancock Principal Susan Waters, 51, was punched in the face and knocked unconscious when she hit the ground outside the school. Her face was badly bruised and her mouth and lip required stitches. Authorities allege that Parker also struck Humberto Ramirez, a custodian at Hancock, in the mouth.
Clark County School District police said they had been looking for Parker since the night Waters and Ramirez were injured. Denby said that by breaking into the garage and then nodding off, Parker made it easy for police to arrest him.
"He's just that stupid, for sleeping in the homeowner's garage," Denby said.
About 3 a.m. Sunday, a woman called police to her home in the southern end of the Las Vegas Valley after she heard noises in her garage and noticed the side door of her garage was open. When she peered inside the garage, she saw someone's feet.
The woman had five other people including children inside her home, so the 911 call-taker told her to lock all her doors until police arrived.
Parker awoke when he was handcuffed, Denby said.
Parker is no stranger to Las Vegas police. According to their records, Parker's had more than a dozen encounters with Metropolitan Police Department officers since 2001. The offenses ranged from driving on a suspended license to domestic violence and gross lewdness.
The school principal who was injured did not return calls for comment Tuesday. A district spokesman said Waters returned to work at Hancock last week.
Lt. Ken Young, a spokesman for the school district police, said the assault will not lead to stepped up enforcement at after-school events because it was an isolated incident.
Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or (702) 799-2922.
