Teacher at Thermal school arrested, suspected of being drunk in class
A teacher at a Thermal school was arrested after a student reported that his behavior frightened classmates, authorities said Saturday.
Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's Thermal station responded at 2:54 p.m. Friday to the school in the 87-100 block of Center Street, where school officials and campus security had removed 44-year-old Marcos Jesus Espinoza from class, according to sheriff's Sgt. Oscar Gutierrez.
The sheriff's department did not release the name of the school, but John Kelley Elementary is at 87-163 Center St. and the school's website lists Espinoza as a fourth-grade teacher.
A student inside a classroom called their parent to say they believed their teacher was intoxicated, and students in the class were "frightened by the teacher's behavior,'' Gutierrez said.
An investigation indicated the Palm Desert resident was under the influence of alcohol, which was consumed while he instructed students, the sergeant said.
Espinoza was arrested and booked at the John Benoit Detention Center for public intoxication, possession of alcohol on school grounds and child endangerment, Gutierrez said.
In September, another teacher was arrested in a similar incident at a Thermal school.
Just before 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 12, deputies got reports of a teacher who had been instructing while intoxicated, Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Nicholas Lingle said.
Brian Dennis Nichols of Palm Springs was then arrested on suspicion of public intoxication, possession of alcohol on school grounds and child endangerment.
The sheriff's department refused to name the school, without citing a reason. But it said the students were "middle school aged." Toro Canyon Middle School is in the area where it happened, the 86-100 block of Avenue 66 in Thermal.
Nichols posted $35,000 bail and was released from the John J. Benoit Detention Center, according to inmate records. He's expected to be arraigned at the Larson Justice Center in Indio on Dec. 7.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Teacher at Thermal school arrested, suspected of being drunk in class
