Sterling official: Garnica 'has been a model staff member'

STERLING – A lot of parents, children, and staff members went to Jefferson Elementary School on Wednesday morning with questions.

On Tuesday night, news broke that bilingual first-grade teacher Mario Garnica Jr. had been arrested at the school Tuesday on multiple charges, including attempted murder.

Sterling schools Superintendent Tad Everett said Wednesday that the school's main focus would be on the well-being of students and staff – assessing the emotional impact that Garnica's arrest has had on them.

"I spent the morning at Jefferson communicating with students, parents, staff members, just trying to answer questions," Everett said. "I think the most asked question was, 'Why was he in the classroom [after the incident]?’ and I think it's a fair question. It's understandable why people would be asking about it."

Garnica is accused of stabbing his 29-year-old boyfriend in the neck and beating him about the head, shoulders and arms with a metal pipe just before 10 p.m. Jan. 19 in the boyfriend's Dixon home.

He is charged with four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of armed violence, four counts of aggravated domestic battery, and two counts of battery. He was being held Wednesday on $300,000 bond in the Lee County Jail, and has a preliminary hearing Feb. 18. He is being represented by attorneys Jim Mertes and Gary Spencer.

The arrest of a teacher, especially on violent charges, is not a common occurrence. So when Dixon Police called Everett around 2:35 p.m. Tuesday to say they were coming to arrest Garnica on a charge of attempted murder, Everett was caught off guard.

He had heard about the incident after rumors began to appear on social media platforms Jan. 24 – 5 days after the hospitalization of Garnica's boyfriend, Ben Brainerd.

Everett said he contacted the district's director of human resources and got a statement from Garnica that same day.

"That statement just included that he had been in an altercation, and his position was that it was self-defense," the superintendent said.

Rumors about Garnica on social media persisted, and on the 25th, Everett called police.

"I introduced myself and said, 'Hey, what can you tell me?'” Everett said Wednesday. “Their statement was essentially that this was an investigation of an attempted suicide, that this did not involve Mario, and there were no charges even pending against Mr. Garnica at that time. So, in our conversations with the Dixon Police Department, there was no reason for us to remove him from the classroom, because there was no pending investigation.

"He has been a model staff member in the 3 years that he had worked for us. His evaluations have been phenomenal. He is well-liked. For us, there was no reason to remove him from the classroom based on the info we'd received from police."

Police said it took almost 2 weeks for Garnica to be charged, because they were waiting for Brainerd to be able to speak so he could provide a statement.

During those 2 weeks, Garnica was teaching.

At the time of Garnica's arrest, at 3:10 p.m. Tuesday, most students were gone. School lets out at 2:55 p.m.

Everett, Jefferson Elementary Principal Sara Dail, and Director of Human Resources Jerry Binder escorted Garnica to the office, where he surrendered to Dixon police.

Garnica is now on administrative leave while Everett works with law enforcement and the schools' attorneys to consider what action to take.

"We have to figure out, as an employee, what legal rights an individual would have in this scenario," Everett said.

"There's a lot that occurred outside of school, but it's been brought into our doors. We want our parents and staff to know that their security and safety is our number one priority, and at no time did myself, or the administration, or the Dixon Police [believe] that anyone's safety was in jeopardy."

A long-term substitute teacher has been placed in Garnica's former classroom, and counselors continue to be on call for children and staff members who wish to speak with them.

Brainerd was being treated Wednesday at KSB Hospital.