Marblehead school boss has 1 count dismissed

LYNN – The headmaster of the Marblehead Charter School won a small battle in Lynn District Court on Tuesday when Judge Michael Lauranzano dismissed the dangerous weapon portion of an assault and battery charge against the educator.Headmaster Thomas L. Commeret, 55, of 2 Bartlett St., Marblehead, was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and threatening to commit a crime after an incident with a 14-year-old female student inside his office on April 9.Police said Commeret grabbed the student and shoved her against a door after she accused him of drinking alcohol inside his office a short time after the school day had ended.Commeret allegedly held her on the door for a few seconds and said, “If you say anything I’ll (expletive) find you.”Police alleged Commeret grabbed the girl by the wrists as he forced her against the door. They claimed the “dangerous weapon” was the door.Commeret’s former attorney, Debra Del Vecchio, tried unsuccessfully to get the “dangerous weapon” portion of the charge removed.His new attorney, the ubiquitous J.W. Carney Jr., argued that the door didn’t cause serious bodily injury and noted there were clothes hanging from it that acted as a cushion. He also said the victim’s story changed twice since the incident.On Tuesday, Judge Lauranzano agreed that the door was not used as a weapon.”We respect the judge’s decision and we will proceed to the trial on the remaining charges,” said Essex District Attorney spokesperson Steve O’Connell.Commeret has a very public history of getting into hot water.On April 29, 2006, while wearing a t-shirt displaying the school’s logo, he was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol on Route 1 in Peabody after making an illegal U-turn.In April 2004, following a heated School Committee meeting at the Marblehead High School library, Commeret allegedly cornered Public Schools Superintendent Ellen Minihan in the book stacks. Minihan filed a police report and said that during the argument she positioned her car keys in between her two fingers as she was taught in a self-defense course.Finally on March 14, 2007, Commeret barely kept his job when the School Committee voted 6-5 to renew his contract. The dissenting members of the board immediately resigned from the School Committee following his rehiring.