A 27-year-old father already involved in a child-custody case initially told police the loaded pistol found in his 4-year- old daughter’s backpack at school was put there by his mother, not him.
But after a Lakewood police officer told James Paul Chavez “his account of the story didn’t make any sense,” Chavez admitted he left the .22-caliber LR Phoenix semiautomatic pistol in the girl’s backpack and forgot it because he was busy, according to court documents filed Thursday in Jefferson County.
A pre-kindergarten teacher at Molholm Elementary School found the handgun in the child’s backpack while tidying up at the end of the school day Wednesday.
When told by the school’s principal that the gun had been found, Chavez begged him not to call police, according to the arrest affidavit.
The principal, John D’Orazio, said he had to notify police, according to the court record.
Chavez told an investigator he carries the gun for protection because he was wounded in 2003 and the shooter was never caught, the court document states.
Chavez was being held Thursday night on $1,000 bail in the Jefferson County Detention Center on suspicion of child abuse, reckless endangerment and carrying a weapon on school grounds.
He could face more charges. Police are still investigating the story behind the pistol and its registration status, said Lakewood police spokesman Steve Davis.
“He certainly doesn’t have a concealed- weapon permit,” Davis said.
Prosecutors will decide on charges and file them at a hearing Tuesday, said Pam Russell, spokeswoman for the Jefferson County district attorney’s office.
There was no bullet in the gun’s chamber, but there were seven in its magazine. Court records noted that Chavez was upset that he had left the weapon where it could have done harm. “James was very apologetic,” the report states.
Chavez has a Sept. 9 date in Jefferson County Family Court in a custody case. Court records indicate he has two children, a 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son.
In June, the court vacated a temporary restraining order against Chavez, which had been granted to the children’s mother and included the children.
Chavez has been arrested or cited by police several times, records show, including serving seven days in the Denver jail in 2003 after being found guilty of disturbing the peace and making threats against persons or property.
He also was sentenced to nine months of probation in 2003 after being convicted of destruction of private property.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
