Former Poudre School District bus attendant Tyler Zanella arrested for bond violation
Tyler Zanella, the former Poudre School District bus attendant facing 164 charges of assault and harassment of special-needs students, including 34 felony counts of assault against at-risk victims, was arrested on a bond violation Friday and remained in jail Saturday, Larimer County Jail records show.
His arraignment on the charges associated with his previous employment with PSD is scheduled for Jan. 29, following the granting of three continuances by 8th Judicial District Judge Daniel McDonald, the first two to give Zanella's defense more time to review evidence and the third to give the Zanella and his attorney, Andy Gavaldon, additional time to review a plea deal.
Zanella’s latest bond violation — he was arrested for another alleged violation in early September — involves an alleged shoplifting incident Dec. 5. According to Fort Collins police reports, Zanella removed a pair of ear buds from a display rack and walked out of the store without paying for them. The store manager was able to identify Zanella, who was in the process of purchasing a cellphone at the time, through video surveillance the following day after discovering the ear buds — valued at $149.99 — were missing.
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When contacted by police about the alleged theft on Dec. 19, Zanella agreed to return the ear buds while he met with police Dec. 21 at the Fort Collins Police Services building to receive a summons for misdemeanor charges of theft of an item valued at less than $300 and criminal tampering. Police said the video surveillance showed Zanella trying to cut the ear buds from the display rack with a pocket knife, and, when that was unsuccessful, simply ripping them off the rack.
Zanella, 37, appeared in court on those charges Dec. 28 but was not taken into custody for the bond violation until Friday, court, arrest and jail records show. His bond, which had been increased from $50,000 to $60,000 after a previous violation and arrest Sept. 1, was set at $75,000 after Friday’s arrest, jail records show.
He is due in court again Wednesday morning on the tampering and theft charges.
(Update 10:30 a.m. Jan. 16: A court appearance Tuesday that was reflected in online records was never placed on the docket, and Zanella's next court appearance is Wednesday, Jan. 17).
All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in court. Arrests and charges are merely accusations by law enforcement until, and unless, a suspect is convicted of a crime.
Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, twitter.com/KellyLyell or facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Former PSD bus attendant Tyler Zanella arrested for bond violation
