Lawsuit: Santa Rosa school failed to help slain student Jayden Pienta

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (KRON) — When 16-year-old Jayden Pienta was bleeding to death at Montgomery High School, school staff members failed to help him, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of Pienta’s parents.

Pienta’s death at school was “tragic and preventable,” attorney Michael Henderson wrote in the lawsuit filed in Sonoma County Superior Court in September.

A 15-year-old freshman stabbed Pienta multiple times inside an art classroom in front of dozens of students and their teacher on March 1.

Earlier this week in juvenile criminal court, a judge ruled that Pienta was the aggressor of the fight, “orchestrated” the art classroom attack, and the freshman who stabbed him was “not responsible” for manslaughter. Judge Ken Gnoss also took issue with Pienta entering “the sanctity of a school classroom where (the freshman) was told he would be safe,” the Press Democrat reported.

In contrast, the civil lawsuit blames school authorities for not expelling the freshman despite prior fights at school, and even failed to help Pienta after he was stabbed.

Defendants listed in the civil lawsuit include Montgomery High School; Santa Rosa City Schools; Santa Rosa High School District; district superintendent Anna Trunnell, former MHS principal Adam Paulson, and vice principal Tyler Ahlborn. The slain teen’s mother, Misty Lenwell, and father are named as the plaintiffs.

“Pienta’s death was preventable and occurred due to the negligence of teachers, staff, administrators, superintendent, board members, and other personnel,” the lawsuit states.

Santa Rosa City Schools district did not immediately respond to KRON4’s request for comment on Friday.

Was Jayden Pienta’s death preventable?

The lawsuit lists a mountain of details about how school officials could have possibly saved Pienta’s life.

“Defendants engaged in such acts and omissions as to cause and allow the Montgomery High School campus to become unsafe for its students,” Henderson wrote. Some of the alleged failures listed in the suit include:

• Removing the Santa Rosa Police Department student resource officer from campus.

• Allowing a culture of violence to grow and become acceptable on campus and during
  school hours, in which students were allowed to settle differences through physical
  violence.

• Failing to take effective action to address students who engage in repeated violent
  altercations with other students, including, but not limited to, reassignment, segregation,
  supervision, education, counseling, intervention, and expulsion.

• Allowing students to engage in increasing and frequent violent altercations with each
  other on campus and during school hours.

Videos recorded on campus and posted on social media contain at least 47 videos of fights on campus during the 2022-2023 school year, according to the suit. Some of the violence is fueled by students in feuding gangs.

“Prior to stabbing and killing Jayden Pienta, (the freshman) was involved in and/or
instigated multiple fights on Montgomery High School campus and during school
hours. Multiple videos of these fights were posted to various social media by students who would gather and watch these fights,” the lawsuit states.

According to the suit, the freshman was a gang member, Pienta was not gang affiliated, however, he was one of “many” students “caught up” in violence on campus, Henderson wrote.

Why did Pienta go into the art class?

The lawsuit gives a timeline of events according to the Pienta family’s attorney:

Pienta frequently drove his friend to school and they had been friends since kindergarten. The freshman and Pienta’s friend had a prior fight at school. On the morning of the homicide, Pienta’s car tires were slashed. The tire slasher was likely either the freshman or one of the freshman’s “associates,” Henderson wrote.

On March 1 during Period 3 of classes, Pienta and his friend chose to confront the freshman inside the art classroom “because this would be the safest way to do so without an escalation due the presence of school staff,” Henderson wrote.

The freshman was armed with a 5-inch-long switchblade knife, and the art teacher was unable to stop a knife attack.

“Video of the stabbing taken by a student shows no meaningful intervention by the teacher or any other staff,” the lawsuit states.  Twenty-seven students, one teacher, and three teaching aides were inside the classroom at the time, police said.

The freshman fled from the school’s campus.

Pienta was stabbed in the chest and back, gravely wounded, and bleeding. But school staff members did not intervene to help him, according to the suit.

“After the stabbing, Jayden Pienta was helped to the school front office by another student. It is unclear at this time why no teacher or other staff assisted Jayden Pienta from the classroom to the office. Upon information and belief, a 911 call was placed by a student. It is unclear at this time if any call was placed by school staff. While at the office, it does not appear that Jayden Pienta received timely or appropriate help.”

Instead of school staff members, students attempted to stop the boy’s bleeding, the lawsuit claims. One student in the office who tried to apply pressure to the boy’s wounds said, “I had to pick him up, he was gushing blood,” the suit claims.

“It also appears that an interrogation may have been initiated by school staff, rather than prompt medical care,” the lawsuit states.

Firefighter paramedics arrived at the school and Pienta was transported in an ambulance to a hospital. Inside the ambulance, he said, “I’m going to die, I’m going to die right now. Tell my mom and dad I love them,” according to the suit.

The boy was pronounced dead at 11:56 a.m. at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

More knives in Santa Rosa high schools

This week, police said more students brought knives to Montgomery High School and Santa Rosa High School. At 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, a 14-year-old boy fled from campus after school staff members tried to search his belongings. Police officers found the student off campus, detained him, and found a 9-inch-long folding knife in his backpack.

He was arrested for possessing a knife on a school campus.

Meanwhile, a gang-related knife fight broke out between students at Santa Rosa High at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. A 14-year-old boy was stabbed by a 16-year-old student near the baseball fields, police said.

“The victim, a 14-year-old male student, called a family member who responded to the school and transported the victim to a local hospital. The school was not notified of the incident until the student arrived at the hospital. Once the school became aware of the situation, they notified SRPD,” the Santa Rosa Police Department wrote. “It is believed the victim and suspect are associated with rival gangs.”

The victim was treated at a hospital for knife wounds and was released. When police officers found the assailant at home, they found gang clothing, a gun, and a knife. He was booked into Sonoma County Juvenile Hall for assault with a deadly weapon and possessing a knife on campus.

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