UPDATE: Del Prado Elementary Parent Arrested And Pepper Sprayed

Juan Brito, Image Courtesy Of Pbso

BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) — A Del Prado Elementary parent became irate for an unknown reason and was pepper-sprayed and then arrested by Palm Beach County School Police.

UPDATE: The prosecutor dropped the following charges:

• 784.07(2B) BATTERY LEO
• 843.02 RESIST ARREST W/O
• 877.13(1A) DISRUPTION SCHOOL FUNCTION

After the 3 charges were dropped, Brito received time served and had to pay court fees for the remaining trespassing charge.

UPDATE: As of 2 pm: Boca Post has had a chance to review the arresting officer’s police report. According to the arrest report, Brito was in the front office without permission. Brito was asked to leave the school by the police officer; however, Brito refused to leave. It is reported that Brito then aggressively went toward the officer. The officer then deployed OC Spray (‘pepper spray’) and grabbed Brito, telling him he was under arrest. Brito then grabbed the officer and said he was not under arrest. Brito was then handcuffed and arrested.

UPDATE: As of 10:00 am: Brito has had his 1st appearance and the $3,000 bond was removed. He will be released SOR (supervised own release) without a cash bond. The state is set to file charges on 1/13/22. A no-contact order has been placed for Brito is to have no contact with PBC Schools. He will most likely be released shortly.

Del Prado’s Principal, Dr. Laurie Riopelle, shared the following message with parents yesterday:

Good afternoon Del Prado Elementary School parents and guardians, this is Dr. Laurie Riopelle.

You may have noticed an increased police presence in front of the school at dismissal this afternoon. I’d like to share with you information about that situation.

A parent, who was outside the front office, became irate, and a scuffle ensued after a police officer tried to deescalate the situation. Pepper spray was used. The Fire Department was called to assist those who were exposed to the spray. The parent has been arrested and removed from the campus.

All children are safe. I can not go into further specific details because this is an ongoing investigation, however, if you have general questions, please do not hesitate to contact the front office.

The parent, who is now identified as Juan Brito of Woodbury Road, was booked into PBSO jail yesterday at approximately 6:30 pm where he still sits this morning.

Brito is currently facing the following charges:

• 784.07(2B) BATTERY LEO
• 843.02 RESIST ARREST W/O
• 877.13(1A) DISRUPTION SCHOOL FUNCTION
• 810.097(2) TRESPASS SCHOOL GROUNDS

This School District has had no further comment when asked by Boca Post due to it being an ongoing investigation.