Rare jury trial opens in school ticket case, as former Naperville student fights AirPods theft charge
A jury trial began Tuesday at the DuPage County Courthouse in the case of a former Naperville North High School student accused of violating a municipal ordinance by stealing a fellow student’s AirPods, a rare escalation for a low-level civil allegation.
A Naperville police officer assigned to Amara Harris’ school issued her a ticket in 2019, when she was 17. Harris’ lawyers maintained Tuesday that she picked up the other student’s AirPods accidentally, mistaking them for her own. The prosecution argued that Harris knew the AirPods in her possession didn’t belong to her because the serial number matched the packaging on the other student’s set.
The case has spanned nearly four years and prompted debates over the widespread practice of police ticketing students at school, documented last year by the Tribune and ProPublica in the investigation “The Price Kids Pay.”
A six-person jury will decide the case, which could span three days. Tuesday marked the first time in at least a decade that a Naperville ordinance violation advanced to trial.
Because Harris’ case involves a civil violation, the burden of proof is less than for a criminal charge. Prosecutors must show only that a “preponderance of the evidence” supports the allegation, or that it more than likely happened. The maximum penalty for violating the theft ordinance is a $500 fine, in addition to a $100 court fee. There’s no threat of jail time.
In an opening statement, one of Harris’ lawyers, Juan Thomas, recounted a recent experience where he said he accidentally walked to the wrong rental car. He said people of all ages make mistakes, and it would be easy to unintentionally pick up someone else’s similar-looking white AirPods.
“When was the last time a 17-year-old kid checked the serial number on their AirPods?” he said, adding that Harris has no history of disciplinary action in high school or at Spelman College. Thomas is one of two well-known civil rights lawyers representing Harris, who is now 20.
Prosecutor Joseph Solon Jr. said the owner of the AirPods shared a class with Harris, and in that class students were required to put their backpacks in a closet. The AirPods’ owner, who also testified Tuesday, said she kept them in a zippered pouch in her backpack.
She said she first noticed the AirPods were missing in the afternoon and told her father that evening. He informed the school that the AirPods were lost.
A few days later, she said, a friend texted her a photo of the friend’s computer. The student said she had previously paired her AirPods with that computer, and the photo showed the same AirPods still paired but with a new name — “Amara’s AirPods.”
The student said she reasoned that Harris took the AirPods during the class they shared, and she reported it to a dean. The dean then involved a school resource officer, who later gave Harris the ticket for theft.
The student said during cross-examination that she never saw Harris reach into her bag and take the AirPods, but the class they had together was the only time her bag was left unattended that day.
Juan Leon, the school resource officer, said he “used discretion” to issue the ticket after Harris’ mother, Marla Baker, refused to talk to him. He said he originally considered giving Harris a “station adjustment,” meaning Harris would have talked with police and might do community service with a parent’s consent.
S. Todd Yeary, Harris’ other attorney and the former chief executive officer of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, said Leon had no evidence that Harris “knowingly” took the AirPods before writing the ticket.
Solon argued that possessing the AirPods carries a “knowing element.” He later said that changing the name on the AirPods meant Harris must have known they were not hers.
Naperville North dean James Konrad testified that when he first learned about the missing AirPods, he had “no reason to believe” there was any wrongdoing. He said he had a “good relationship” with Harris. Harris didn’t receive any discipline from the school.
Harris’ lawyers asked that Judge Monique O’Toole end the case, arguing that the prosecution hadn’t established that Harris knowingly took the AirPods. O’Toole declined. They said some of the witnesses’s testimony was contradictory, and that Leon issued the ticket essentially because he was “ticked off” at Baker.
ProPublica and the Tribune first reported on Harris’ case last year as part of “The Price Kids Pay,” in which reporters documented 12,000 tickets Illinois students received over nearly three years for violations including possession of vaping devices, disorderly conduct and truancy. Fines associated with the tickets can run into the hundreds of dollars.
The investigation also found that Black students at Naperville North High School were almost five times more likely than their white classmates to receive tickets.
Most students who receive municipal ordinance citations admit liability and pay the fine. Because of the lower burden of proof, fighting the tickets is difficult and costly. Baker said the family spent about $2,000 on legal fees before a nonprofit organization chipped in to help. A Naperville spokesperson previously said the case hasn’t cost the city extra money because a city prosecutor is handling it.
The trial will continue Wednesday, with more school employees likely called as witnesses. Harris may also testify.
