Three Georgia parents face charges after storming elementary school bus over false AC claims: cops

A trio of Georgia adults face criminal charges after forcing their way onto a school bus to remove children, according to the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies identified the accused adults as April Michelle Disspain, Tony Ray Chastain and Mariah Quinones, all of Georgia, the sheriff’s office said.

The incident unfolded on Monday afternoon at the Highland Trace Apartments in Lumpkin County, police said.

The apartment complex sits about an hour outside Atlanta, according to the sheriff’s office.

A substitute school bus driver was dropping off children from Cottrell Elementary School when the confrontation began, police said.

The driver brought eight years of professional experience to the route, according to investigators. But it was the substitute driver’s first time operating that specific neighborhood run, police said.

The complex had two designated drop-off stops along the scheduled afternoon route, according to the sheriff’s office.

The driver allowed students assigned to the first designated stop to leave the bus, police said. But when a student assigned to the second stop exited early, the driver instructed the child to return, according to investigators.

The driver tried to get the children on the bus to settle down so the route could continue, police said.

Parents then approached the bus and demanded that more children be let off immediately, according to the sheriff’s office.

The driver tried to explain that those children were assigned to another stop and needed to stay seated, police said. But tensions only grew as the driver attempted to move on, investigators said.

Parents crowded outside the bus and began speaking to the children directly through the windows, according to the sheriff’s office.

The “student’s behavior escalated” inside the bus as the crowd surrounded the vehicle, police said.

The situation quickly grew out of control, according to investigators.

The driver placed an urgent call to the elementary school for help, police said.

School officials immediately dispatched a second bus driver to the complex to assist, according to the sheriff’s office.

Students on board then activated the bus’s emergency-release mechanism, police said.

Adults boarded the bus and removed the children through the emergency opening, according to investigators. The adults then accused the driver of holding the kids for more than 30 minutes without air conditioning, police said.

Investigators quickly determined those accusations were completely false, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies found the children onboard had been out of control before the bus ever left school grounds, police said.

The children were accused of “yelling, fighting, moving between seats, throwing objects, and refusing to follow instructions,” according to the sheriff’s office. That behavior had forced school administrators and an assistant principal to board the bus on “multiple occasions,” police said.

Video obtained by police from inside the bus showed those behavioral issues continued during the route, investigators said.

Investigators found the children were on the bus for only 14 to 15 minutes before the second driver arrived, police said. That timeline directly contradicted the 30-plus minutes parents alleged, according to the sheriff’s office.

There was no evidence the students were “intentionally held,” police said.

Investigators also examined the allegations regarding the bus cooling system, according to the sheriff’s office.

Police found the air conditioning had only been temporarily switched off while the bus climbed a steep portion of the route, investigators said.

The cooling unit had affected the performance of the gasoline-powered bus on the incline, according to the sheriff’s office.

The driver turned the air conditioning back on before the confrontation with parents unfolded, police said.

“The investigation found no evidence establishing that the driver intentionally withheld air conditioning as punishment, shut off the bus engine while the children were being held at the apartment complex, or ignored a clearly observable medical emergency,” the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators noted school policy requires students to stay seated, follow the driver’s instructions and exit only at their designated stops, police said.

Police said they found no probable cause to charge the driver with a crime. Instead, the sheriff’s office issued arrest warrants on Wednesday for three adults accused of boarding the bus, disrupting operations and aggressively confronting the driver, deputies said.

One of the accused adults, Disspain, was issued warrants for simple battery, disrupting the operation of a public-school bus and disorderly conduct, the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office said.

Disspain allegedly forced her way onto the bus, made physical contact with the driver, removed multiple children and used profane language in front of the students, police said.

A second suspect, Chastain, was issued warrants for disrupting the operation of a public-school bus and disorderly conduct, according to the sheriff’s office.

Investigators alleged Chastain boarded the bus, yelled and cursed at the driver, demanded children be released and encouraged their unauthorized removal, police said.

The third adult, Quinones, was issued a warrant for disrupting the operation of a public-school bus, according to the sheriff’s office.

Quinones allegedly boarded the bus and removed her child without authorization, police said.

The investigation remains open, police said.