Arrest made; COVMS lifts lockout

The Department of Public Safety arrested over the weekend the man who allegedly entered the Chacha Oceanview Middle School without authorization last week. The school, in turn, has since lifted the lockout in place at the COVMS campus.

DPS arrested Friday Joey Daniel Torres Maratita, the man who allegedly caused the lockdown and lockout at COVMS last week.

It was learned that Maratita, who has a previous court-issued temporary restraining order against him, violated the terms of his restraining order by entering the school to talk to a teacher believed to be a previous partner.

Maratita was brought before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph Camacho late last Friday afternoon on charges of disturbing the peace, domestic violence, and contempt of court.

The court imposed a $10,000 cash bail on Maratita before remanding him back to Department of Corrections custody where he will await further court proceedings or until he presents the court with an eligible third-party custodian.

The court ordered Maratita to return to court on Jan. 24 for a preliminary hearing; he will be arraigned on Jan. 29.

Court documents, which recount the COVMS incident, state that police officers responded last Jan. 17 at around 11:31am to a disturbing the peace, domestic violence, assault and battery, and contempt of court report at the school.

Police officer Maridel Camacho arrived on campus at around 11:34am, and spoke with COVMS principal Martha Kintol who gave details about the car Maratita was allegedly driving and informed her that the school had been placed on lockdown due to the incident. Kintol then escorted Camacho to the school’s main office to speak with the person who had called police—a COVMS faculty member who witnessed the incident.

The caller told police that Maratita had been with one of the teachers in a classroom, but she (the caller) was able to get the victim to safety and away from Maratita. She added that Maratita then jumped a fence and left the campus.

In an interview with the alleged victim, police learned that she was on her way to her classroom when she saw Maratita walking in the hallway toward her. When Maratita was a few feet away, the victim said the defendant told her they needed to talk and they made their way to her classroom.

In her classroom, she stated she and Maratita got into a verbal altercation before another teacher stepped in and took her to safety.

The victim told police that she had sought police assistance against Maratita back on Jan. 13, after he violated a TRO she had filed against him. In that incident, Maratita entered the COVMS campus and disturbed the victim’s peace.

Meanwhile, the Public School System issued a statement last Friday lifting the lockout at COVMS.

“Dear PSS families, staff, and stakeholders, Chacha Oceanview Middle School has remained on lockout status since an unauthorized campus entry occurred on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. Lockout status of a school prohibits the entry of unauthorized visitors on campus. Earlier this morning, PSS received updated information from the Department of Public Safety that prompted the school administration to issue out an all-clear signal at around 11:30am, and therefore transition out of school lockout status. The PSS and COVMS administration continue to take the safety of our students, staff, and stakeholders very seriously, and we continue to ensure that we uphold this priority. We thank our stakeholders and community partners for their patience, assistance, and cooperation,” said PSS.