Peabody High locked down

PEABODY – A Gloucester High School freshman playing hooky penetrated Peabody Veteran’s Memorial High School both Monday and Tuesday, forcing it into lockdown Tuesday.The 15-year-old male made the 20-mile trip by train and taxi to sneak his way into the school Monday, unbeknownst to officials. But when he found his way through the high school doors again on Tuesday, teachers caught on and called authorities about the unexpected visitor.At approximately 8:55 a.m. that morning, Principal Ed Sapienza was informed that there was an intruder spotted wandering the halls and immediately called for an emergency lockdown. Within 10 minutes, security found him walking along the corridors. He was later apprehended and questioned by police.”One good thing about our teachers and administration is that they’ve made special effort to get a good idea of what kids belong here and don’t belong here,” said Sapienza. “He was spotted as being unknown to anyone.”The school remained on lockdown for a full half hour before classes resumed as usual. There were no reported injuries, however, Peabody police are still investigating. Sapienza could not comment on what wrong doings may have been carried out by the Gloucester boy, as he wasn’t sure himself.No one knows why the minor came all the way to Peabody, all they know is that he didn’t belong at the high school.”We believe he was going up there to visit someone, but he’s claiming he wanted to enroll,” said Peabody Police Lt. Dennis Bonaiuto.Visitors of the high school are asked to sign in at the main office, where a person is posted throughout the day, and report back to the main office as they leave. Sapienza said that there is no telling if anyone has slipped through the cracks in the past, but it could have been possible.”That’s the problem with high schools,” he said. “There’s no swipe card. Two thousand kids walk through that door every morning. It’d be very easy to blend in when you look just like one of them.”The Gloucester boy has been charged with trespassing, disrupting school assembly, and two counts of larceny under $250 for not paying his cab fares. He is believed to have been arraigned in Salem Juvenile Court Tuesday. Bonaiuto said there’s no telling what consequences he may face in respect to the law. Because he’s a juvenile, much of the sentencing will depend on his criminal background.One thing is for certain – Gloucester High School Principal Dr. Joseph Sullivan has suspended the student indefinitely until the investigation is complete.”We’re working directly with Peabody High School,” Sullivan said. “Our recommendation to them was that (the boy) be charged for the cost of locking down the high school for whatever time period it was. That’s what we do here.”Sullivan said that the average cost of a complete lockdown runs anywhere from $8,000 to $9,000 after police, fire trucks, and search dogs are involved.”The price tag gets pretty high,” he said, noting that it’s unlikely the student will have to foot the bill. Sullivan said it’s more common to translate that amount into community service hours. And, if you do that math, averaging $10 per hour, that’s at least 800 hours of community service.”That’s a major deterrent for freshmen,” said Sullivan.According to Sullivan, this particular student is no stranger to skipping school, and the child’s parents are currently trying to take care of the situation.”What his motive was for being there, I don’t know,” he said. “But you can bet there are other problems besides skipping school.”