By Andy Sevilla

One day after a Hays High School student was arrested for allegedly threatening violence against fellow students and school staff, a Hays High teacher also was apprehended for making a false report or threat in connection with the case.

James Wayne Archer, 17, was arrested Oct. 30 and charged with making a terroristic threat, a third-degree felony.

Archer’s arrest came after another Hays High School student overheard the suspect allegedly threaten to kill the school’s assistant principal with a Colt Python and a knife dipped in snake venom, according to Archer’s probable cause affidavit used to secure an arrest warrant from Judge Linda Rodriguez.

A second student, who according to police heard Archer’s statements first hand, said Archer said he was going to bring his .44 Colt Python and kill the teacher, the affidavit said.

Authorities investigated the allegations and during the execution of a search warrant at Archer’s Kyle home, the suspect told police he made the threats but had no intention of following through, according to Hays County Sheriff’s officials. 

Following Archer’s Oct. 30 arrest, school district and law enforcement officials advised the Hays High School campus was safe and no further threat existed. 

However, a Hays High School teacher is accused of telling students later that same morning that a threat remained at the campus.

Ricardo Gabriel Sanchez, 46, allegedly told students two other suspects remained at large and threatened to carry out killings at the school campus that day (Oct. 30), according to his probable cause affidavit used to secure an arrest warrant from Judge Beth Smith.

Sanchez allegedly told students that two other students were part of the shooting plan with Archer and hadn’t been found, the affidavit states. When students asked the teacher how he knew that, Sanchez allegedly told them he was a cop.

“If y’all have ever bullied somebody else. You’re gonna be the first ones to go,” Sanchez is reported as telling his students, according to the affidavit.

“If he comes in here and starts shooting hopefully he’ll be out of bullets by the time he finishes with y’all and sees me,” Sanchez is reported as saying. 

Hays County Sheriff’s officers arrested Sanchez Oct. 31 and charged him with making a false alarm or report, a state jail felony. 

“…(Sanchez’s) actions disrupted the school day and prompted unnecessary fear and apprehension,” Hays CISD officials said in a statement. “This led to some parents signing their children out of school for the remainder of the school day.”

Savoy said 130 students were checked out of campus out of fear of a continued threat.

Officials described a long line of students, stretching out of the office, waiting to be pulled out of school. 

Sanchez told investigators he received an email from Hays High School Principal David Pierce informing staff that an arrest had been made in the terroristic threat and that no further security concerns remained on the campus. However, Sanchez said he learned on Facebook and Twitter that there were three actors and only one had been arrested, the affidavit states. 

Ultimately, Sanchez told investigators that he fed into the falsehoods and rumors, using them as a topic for his classes, with an admission that he should have provided the correct information, the affidavit states. 

“It does no one any service to undermine the communications we’re sending out to parents. That leads to more problems for everyone,” Savoy said. “It’s scary enough to have a threat against our school in the first place, but it’s completely unnecessary and irresponsible to add another level of fear and uncertainty.”

Sanchez who is a full-time criminal justice teacher at Hays High School has been placed on administrative leave with pay, according to a Hays CISD statement. The district is conducting an internal investigation and is cooperating with a related Hays County Sheriff’s Office investigation. 

Sanchez is a Commissioned Peace Officer with the state, according to Hays Sheriff’s officials. His commission is presently held by the Maverick County Sheriff’s Office. He remained at the Hays County Jail as of Monday afternoon and was being held on a $50,000 bond, according to jail records. 

The student, James Wayne Archer, was released from jail Oct. 30 after posting a $50,000 surety bond. 

Go online to www.haysfreepress.com to see our interview with a Hays High student’s reaction to the gun threat.