Attorney: Kindergarten brawl blown out of proportion

The man accused of starting a brawl at a kindergarten graduation reception Monday "was supposed to set an example" for the kids, Judge Bernie Bouchard said today as Raymond Walker appeared in court.

Bouchard said Walker, 33, of Millvale, showed poor judgement before such an impressionable group.

"As an adult he is supposed to set an example," the judge said. "He's showing all these kids vigilante justice is OK."

Bouchard set Walker's bond at $50,000.

Walker was charged with inducing panic and assault after the incident.

Victor Wayne Sims, Walker's attorney, said the case has been blown out of proportion, and there has been a rush to judgement against his client.

"I think that certainly violence is not a good thing for our children to see, however, there is such a thing as reality TV that we seem to want our children to watch all the time," Sims said. "We also had the school officials on there mandating prosecuting to the fullest extent of the law without understanding what really occurred in there.

"So when we talk about setting an example for our children, then we have to look at the total picture for the children in terms of growth and learning as to the way the world works."

Walker turned himself in about 3 p.m. Thursday, four days after police say he attacked another man after a kindergarten graduation, during a punch-and-cookies reception at Mount Healthy North Elementary School, 2170 Struble Road.

Lori Handler, Mount Healthy superintendent, said Walker was the father of one of the kindergarteners and reportedly attacked the current boyfriend of the child's mother.

"He (the boyfriend) was just sitting there eating a cookie, and the next thing you know, he was getting punched in the face," Handler said. "It was unfortunate to have this kind of incident happen in our school in front of our children."

Mount Healthy Board of Education member Emmett Kilgore, a former deputy, stepped in and separated the men.

About 150 kindergarteners and their families were in the cafeteria at the time.

Some parents fled the cafeteria with their youngsters.

The building was placed on lockdown.

Handler said there were only two people involved in the fight.

Court records identify the man Walker allegedly punched as Dominique Garrett.

"The assault did induce panic during the assembly, causing several in attendance to be pushed," police wrote in a sworn statement.

A third man, knocked down while holding a baby, was restrained from retaliating by others at the reception.

Walker fled before police arrived. Authorities identified him with the help of security video from the cafeteria.

Handler says she wants Walker prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law to send a strong message that such behavior will not be tolerated.

"I cannot believe that grown-ups would act like this around 5-year-olds," she said.

Walker has a lengthy criminal record, mostly for minor misdemeanors like marijuana possession, but he did serve 9 months in a state prison after fleeing Springfield Township police in 2003 and crashing into a tree, seriously injuring his female passenger.

Jennie Key contributed.