By Roger Lanse

On Feb. 18, at about 9 p.m., Silver City police officers were called by a Cobre bus driver to Silver High School regarding a Cobre High School bus, the entire left side of which had been painted blue. It appeared the damage occurred while the Cobre boys basketball team was playing Silver. The bus driver estimated the damage at $1,200.

The next morning, according to court documents, officers contacted Silver High School security and viewed surveillance tapes but none of the footage included the school bus or any people in that area.

On Thursday, March 3, at about 2 p.m., court documents stated, the SHS principal emailed SCPD stating that she received an anonymous tip that Johanan Mcdowell, 18 years of age, was one of the students who vandalized the bus. The email further stated that the principal questioned Mcdowell and that he confessed he painted the bus but would not disclose the names of who else was with him.

That same day at approximately 3 p.m., SCPD Officer William Lara spoke with the principal at the high school and learned that Mcdowell had been suspended for 10 days but that she was unable to get confessions from the other students who may have been involved.

At 3:15 p.m. Officer Lara spoke with Mcdowell on the phone, according to court documents, and he agreed to meet at SCPD at 7 p.m. for a statement. When Mcdowell didnG