Peter was focused solely on the larger boy.
Sensing a fight was going to break out and eager to get her class started, Caudill grabbed the back-collar area of Peter’s coat and gently attempted to tug him into the classroom. “Please, Peter,” Caudill pleaded, “come in the classroom and sit down.”
Suddenly, without warning, Peter turned around and grabbed Caudill’s hands, raised them to her chest, and pushed her away from him. Caudill was stunned. She did not say anything, because she was practically in shock that one of her students had raised a hand to her.
Peter Cantu was not done.
The teenage boy walked up to Caudill again and pushed her even harder. He knocked her backward and she stumbled a bit, but retained her footing. He then continued to push her repeatedly, until he forced her backward all the way to the back of the room.
“Get out of my way, old lady,” he told her.
Caudill could not respond, nor could she fend off his advances.
Peter stopped briefly, only to grab her by both hands, spin her around, and start pushing her back in the direction they came from. “Stop touching me,” the boy yelled at her, even though he was the one who had her in his grasp. “Let me go! Don’t touch me!” he yelled as he pushed her back toward the hallway.
Caudill finally managed to scream, “Push the panic button!” One of the girls sprinted up to her teacher’s desk and pushed an emergency button, which notified the principal something was wrong in Caudill’s classroom.
Peter did not stop. He continued to shove the teacher out into the hallway and scream at her to let go of him. Once he had her out in the hallway, he continued forcefully pushing her. Caudill stumbled backward the length of two classrooms and into a group of students still standing in the hall.
In the background, the intercom to Caudill’s classroom came on. “Is everything all right, Ms. Caudill?” asked the school principal.
“Ms. Caudill needs help!” one of the students yelled. “Peter is hurting her!”
Meanwhile, in the hallway, sixth-grade social studies teacher Stephen Seale saw a commotion coming toward him, but had no idea what was going on. As the cluster came closer, he could see his fellow teacher, Diane Caudill, being assaulted by a student. He saw the boy kicking at the teacher and pushing her backward. Seale took off toward the pair, moved a few students out of his pathway, came up behind Peter Cantu, and grabbed him by the back of his collar. Seale, however, was standing too close to the student and accidentally fell to the ground, taking the boy with him. Peter began to struggle and kick out at Caudill as he lay on the ground underneath Seale.
“Don’t you ever put your hands on a teacher!” Seale barked at Peter.
At that point, Seale grabbed the boy and restrained him until he finally calmed down, which took three or four minutes.
“I didn’t do anything,” Peter lied to Seale. “I got respect for teachers.”
“You sure have got a strange way of showing it,” Seale replied. Once the situation appeared to be settled, Seale picked Peter up and led him to Assistant Principal Harland Maresh’s office.
Maresh expelled Peter from school for the rest of the year. Diane Caudill suffered bruises on two of her fingers and sore wrists from when Peter Cantu had bent them backward while pushing her.
Diane Caudill was relieved Peter had been removed from school. She also filed a police report against the boy. Peter Cantu was arrested, charged, and let go with a warning.
Caudill’s relief was short-lived, however, as the Hamilton Middle School administration allowed Peter to reenroll the following spring semester. He was back in school by January 1989. He was not placed in Caudill’s class, much to her appreciation. He did, however, continue to torment her whenever he could. He would often come early in the morning into the hallway where her classroom was, even though students were not allowed in the hall at the time. He would follow Caudill approximately six to eight feet behind her as she walked down the hall. Whenever she would turn around to see what he was doing, he always had his head down as if he were not looking at her.
Stephen Seale watched Peter once as he sauntered past Caudill’s classroom. He noticed the teenager looked into her classroom and gave her a facetious, disrespectful smile. It was too much for Caudill to handle any longer, so she put in a request for a transfer, which was granted.
Peter continued his reign of terror at Hamilton Middle School even after Caudill left. Assistant Principal Maresh had several consultations with Peter about his numerous discipline problems. Peter got into trouble often for cursing. He would curse several people, including teachers, other students, campus security guards, Maresh, and even the principal. He often muttered profanities under his breath; however, he would also say inappropriate things out loud as well.
Peter had also been expelled for fighting. He seemed to spend the majority of his time in Maresh’s office.
“I was concerned, naturally, about Peter,” Maresh later recalled. “I was hoping to turn around his behavior, try to make him a productive student, a good member of the school, but it just seemed like things only got progressively worse as time moved on.” In fact, Peter’s behavior steadily declined. “His attitude toward teachers and toward administrators and toward students did not improve. It got worse.”
When Maresh could not reach Peter through a direct approach, he attempted to get some help from Suzie Cantu. That move did not work, as the increasingly clueless mother refused to accept that her boy could do any wrong. According to Maresh, Suzie Cantu would always side with her son against the school—no matter what.
“I didn’t get any cooperation out of her,” the assistant principal recalled. “Usually she came in there protecting him and she was always against the school and against us enforcing the rules that he had broken.”
Peter had gotten away with assault of a teacher and had forced her to transfer. He received no punishment other than being sent home for two months. He was placed on what is known as “home base assignment,” wherein a suspended student is allowed to continue to do his schoolwork, turn it in to the school, and still have it graded. Not much of a hardship for a boy who had grown to despise the educational system.
Peter also received special treatment from Hamilton Middle School in the form of extensive counseling from Maresh. Peter and his mother were also referred to an outside counseling service for help with his disruptive behavior. The assistant principal believed Peter’s behavior was a direct result of having a poor self-image. Mrs. Cantu, however, believed her son was never responsible for anything bad. She blamed everyone except her own son.
“I really don’t feel that Peter has a problem,” Mrs. Cantu reiterated, ignoring the many obvious signs that stared her directly in the face. “He never acts this way at home.”
Peter was placed in a behavior class to try and help shape up his bad attitude. That did not work, either, as he was constantly starting arguments and provoking fights with the other students. He was eventually removed from the behavior class and placed back in the school’s general population.
Peter Cantu was not yet done with the Caudill/Seale situation.
Several months later, on October 19, 1989, Alicia Seale, daughter of Stephen Seale, was in attendance at the Hamilton Middle School versus F. M. Black Middle School football game. The eleven-year-old girl was there with a few of her girlfriends. Her father was also present in the stadium, but was not with her. Alicia and her friends were having a good time gabbing with one another in the stands on the chilly evening. After the first quarter ended, Alicia told her friends she wanted to get something to drink from the concession stand.
Alicia arrived at the stand to find a fairly long line, so she took her place in it. She looked down at the ground, staring at her shoes, and did not hear the teenage boy and his friends walk up behind her. Oblivious, she continued to look down.
“I’m gonna kill your father,” Alicia thought she heard from behind her. She looked up and back and saw Peter Cantu
with several of his buddies.
“I’m sorry?” she said.
“I’m gonna kill your father,” Peter repeated.
Alicia knew Peter. They both had attended Garden Oaks Elementary School and were now at Hamilton Middle School. She was not friends with him, but knew who he was, even before the incident with her father.
“I can’t believe your asshole of a father grabbed me and threw me to the ground like that. Then that fucker slapped me. Can you believe that?” Peter expressed his anger.
Alicia had no idea what to say. She began to get nervous, especially since Peter had several other boys with him.
“I hate your father! He’s an asshole!” he yelled at her. “I’m gonna kill that son of a bitch. I should shoot his ass!” he growled at her.
Alicia was terrified now.
“Is your dad here?” Peter wanted to know.
Alicia finally broke her silence and lied. “No, he’s not here.” She hoped the lie did not show on her face.
“He better not be here,” one of Peter’s friends said in a loud voice. “We brought ourselves a gun.”
Alicia still had no idea what to say. She simply put her head down, turned around, and walked away. She then covertly located her father and told him about the threat.
Peter was later escorted off the stadium premises. Apparently, it was for an unrelated matter that involved him and another student, which nearly escalated into a fight.
The following day, a school security guard, Marvin Lee, brought Peter into Maresh’s office. The guard informed the assistant principal that Cantu had made threats against Stephen Seale at the football game the night before. Maresh had not even begun to speak to the teenager about the near fight with the other student when Peter started to cause a commotion in the administrative waiting room.
The angry youth cursed at Lee and called him “a fuckin’ nigger.” He also called the assistant principal’s assistant, who was also black, “a goddamned nigger.” He repeatedly uttered the word “nigger” and continued to taunt the pair.
Maresh contacted the school principal and told her that Peter Cantu was causing a major disruption. When she entered the waiting room, Peter lashed out at her as well.
“Fuck you, you fuckin’ bitch,” he yelled at the principal.
“What the fuck you looking at, nigger?” he spewed at the security guard.
Peter tried to make a run for it; however, Lee easily snatched him and placed handcuffs on his wrists. Instead of calming down, Peter’s expletive-filled rants increased.
“I’ll kill you, you piece of shit nigger,” he screamed at the security guard. “I will kill you.” He looked at Maresh and threatened him, too. “Mark my words, motherfucker. I will kill you!” Peter kicked and screamed and thrashed around, but the guard had a firm grasp on him.
“You’re a fuckin’ asshole goddamned nigger,” he spewed at Lee. He looked at Maresh and spat out, “You’re a fuckin’ asshole, too!”
Peter turned his head back toward Lee and stated, “I’m going to get you back. That’s not a threat. That’s a promise.”
Peter would not be going anywhere and he would not be killing anyone that particular day. Maresh called the police.
They arrived and placed Peter Cantu under arrest. The boy kicked out at Maresh’s desk and knocked several papers and a framed photograph off it. He then attempted to make a lunge at Lee; however, the Houston police officers restrained the young boy before he could get to the guard.
It would be Peter Cantu’s last day at Hamilton Middle School.
After his expulsion, however, Peter could not seem to keep away from the school. Even though Peter was not supposed to go anywhere near the campus, Maresh spotted Cantu several times loitering around the school. He and a couple of his buddies who had also been expelled would come up to school and curse at Lee.
Lee also recalled another time when the expelled Peter attempted to scare him. According to Lee, Peter and a couple of his friends came up to the campus before school started. Lee was inside the school, but he could clearly see Peter out in the school parking lot. He watched as Peter pointed at him, turned his back away, and pulled his shirt up over his head, revealing a large tattooed Cantu inked across his back. He then turned around and smiled at Lee, as if to say, Look, I can withstand the pain from this. You think you can hurt me?
Peter Cantu was eventually transferred back to F. M. Black Middle School, where he had been transferred to from Hamilton in the fall of 1988. While at Black Middle School, Peter ran into more problems, especially when it came to authority figures.
Dalton Hughes Jr., who ran security at Black Middle School, had to deal with Peter’s disruptive behavior on several occasions. He was called into a classroom more than once to restrain Peter, who had verbally attacked a teacher. Peter had either been cursing or yelling at a teacher, and Hughes had to remove him from the classroom. Hughes, a large man, would grab Peter by the shoulder, and the student would jerk away and spew cusswords at him.
Hughes also spotted Peter in the hallways arguing with students. He believed the young boy was always on edge and ready to fight anyone at anytime for any reason. “He was a bully,” Hughes recalled. “He was very disruptive, he didn’t have respect for authority, and he was belligerent.”
Finally, after too many infractions, Principal Ben Azios suspended Peter Cantu for three days. It was actually the third or fourth time Azios had suspended him—he could barely keep track, it happened so often.
But Peter would not be dissuaded. He and his friend Joe Medellin rode their bicycles up to the Black Middle School campus the day after his latest suspension. When Hughes spotted Peter, he warned him he was trespassing and needed to leave the premises or he would call the police.
Peter responded to Hughes by flipping him off.
“You no-good prick!” Peter screamed across the street at Hughes. “You can’t do anything to me. I’m not on the campus.”
Hughes assured him he was and that the cops would be on their way.
Peter screamed back, “I can do what I want. To hell with you.”
The ranting continued for several minutes until Houston police officer M. A. Cross arrived at the scene. Officer Cross motioned for Peter and Joe to come over to him. Peter walked over to the police officer and began cursing at him.
Cross approached Peter and began to search the boy. The entire time he was being searched, Peter lit up a firestorm of expletives directed at the officer, the school, Hughes—anyone and everyone.
Officer Cross informed him he was under arrest. Before the officer could restrain the teenager, Peter picked up his bicycle, lifted it up over his head, and slammed it down on the concrete street.
Peter screamed at the officer. “I can go where I want! You can’t do nothing to me, you piece of shit!”
“Dude, calm down, man.” Joe tried to talk some sense into his friend.
Peter did not listen. He began to yell at Officer Cross, who grabbed him and spun him around to lead him to the squad car. As the officer pulled the teenager’s arm to direct him, Peter lashed out with his feet. He began kicking wildly and continued cursing a torrent of blue phrases. The officer was able to guide him to the police car and push him up against the vehicle. Hughes helped restrain Peter so the officer could slap a pair of cuffs on him.
Peter’s mother somehow got wind of what was happening with her son and she made a beeline to the school. As she pulled up, she saw her son kicking and screaming.
“Peter, stop yelling at the police officer,” she warned him.
Peter ignored her as well.
“Peter, stop it,” she pleaded.
Peter acted as if she were not even there. He screamed profanities as the officer forced him into the backseat of the police car. Once inside the vehicle, he started kicking at the inside of the door with his feet.
Hughes was stunned by Peter’s reaction. According to the security guard, Peter was “completely out of control.” He added, “He just h
ad no regard for the police officer, the uniform, for the assistant principal out there, me. He just didn’t care.”
Hughes later said he should not have been surprised by Peter’s reaction to the police officer. He had witnessed him bully teachers in their classrooms and pick several fights with other students. Usually these were people who were physically weaker.
“He’s like a wolf to a rabbit,” Hughes analogized.
Peter Cantu was arrested and released without any further charges.
The following year, Peter Cantu was transferred back to Hamilton and was given the Wechsler intelligence test by Dr. Carroll Kennedy. Neither Peter nor his parents wanted him to take the test, but the school highly recommended it. They finally realized Peter had flunked out of school three times and needed some additional help. The Cantus relented and Peter was administered the test. Dr. Kennedy discovered Peter’s verbal intelligence was low, while his nonverbal intelligence was average. Based on all the other tests, she recommended he be placed in special education.
Despite the assessment, for no apparent rhyme or reason, school records indicate Peter bypassed seventh grade altogether and was sent to the eighth grade. As a fifteen-year-old eighth grader, he had the reading level of a second grader. His spelling ability was worse than a first grader’s.
On September 19, 1990, Dr. Barbara Felkins gave Peter a psychiatric evaluation. She discovered he suffered from severe dysthmia, or depression, and also a severe conduct disorder. The doctor noted he was under “extreme psycho-social stressors” and had “very poor level functioning” skills. She also described him as “intensely angry” and that he “has a defensive shell built up around him.”
During the evaluation, Peter confided in the doctor that “he don’t trust nobody because I don’t need to trust people. I have no need for help from anyone.” He added he is “quick to hold a grudge” and “others do not care for” him. Also, he “must defend [himself] at all cost.”
Dr. Felkins’s recommendation was for Peter to be taught in a more structured environment with a lower student-to-teacher ratio.
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