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A woman was arrested after allegedly walking inside Sunol Glen School and causing a disturbance on a school day last month, the Pleasanton Weekly has learned.
Victoria Loma Bowers, who apparently has no ties to the campus, was charged with misdemeanor counts of battery and obstruction and is awaiting a pretrial hearing scheduled for next month, according to the Alameda County’s criminal case portal.
“Everyone is safe, and the situation was resolved quickly,” Sunol Superintendent and Principal Shay Galletti wrote in a letter to the community, which she shared with the Weekly.
The incident happened just after 11 a.m. on Jan. 8 when Bowers entered the school’s main building through a door that was unlocked due to a meeting that took place earlier that day, according to Galletti. The woman does not have any kids who go to the school nor does she have any connection to the school.
“The individual was behaving erratically and would not leave when asked,” Galletti said.
In a separate letter directed to the parents of one of the teachers who, along with her students, briefly interacted with the intruder that day, Galletti said that Bowers briefly spoke to students outside of the teacher’s classroom before the teacher directed her students back inside the classroom and notified administrators.
“Administration responded immediately, and the Sheriff’s Office was contacted,” Galletti said. “The individual exited the building without further issue. The incident lasted approximately six minutes.”
Upon leaving the school, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office promptly arrested Bowers, according to Galletti.
The principal said during the incident, the intruder pushed past her as she stood by a doorway to prevent access to areas where other students and classes were located, which is what led to the battery charge.
“I was not injured,” Galletti told the Weekly. “Based on the individual’s behavior and actions, charges were pursued to ensure she is not permitted to return to the school grounds.”
Galletti added that the school did not go under lockdown that day because it was not deemed necessary after staff “followed established procedures to address the situation without escalation”.
“As part of our regular safety planning, we were already scheduled to share information with families next week about an upcoming lockdown drill,” Galletti said. “Today’s incident serves as a reminder of why we practice these procedures and the importance of calm, practiced responses.”
According to court documents, Bowers was arraigned on Jan. 12 and pleaded not guilty. Her pretrial hearing is scheduled for March 5.
