THUG’S SCHOOL ‘TIPOFF’
Vic forced to flee
A Queens family was forced to flee their home after bumbling high-school officials gave their address to a “known” gangbanger who threatened to kill their son, according to a lawsuit.
Fisticuffs and a paperwork error put Martha Ortiz and her son, Juan, 15, in serious danger when a selfprofessed member of the Bloods, who had beefed with Juan in a hallway at John Bowne HS in Flushing, got hold of their personal information, the mom charges in court papers.
Purported Bloods member Jhann Lara, 17, and another teen allegedly set upon Juan one day last November, prompting the school to schedule suspension hearings for the boys.
But after a Nov. 29 hearing, Ortiz was handed a file which turned out to be Lara’s, and quickly found out the alleged hood had gotten her own son’s file, she claims in a Queens Supreme Court negligence lawsuit against the city. She seeks unspecified damages.
Within two hours of the bureaucratic bungle, Lara allegedly posted a picture online of Juan’s home, along with images of himself with two guns and threats of “violence and death,” Ortiz alleges.
It got worse: when the mom turned over evidence of Lara’s threats to the school, Lara quickly got hold of that, too, posting on Snapchat “of being in the office with the files Martha Ortiz gave to the school,” along with more threats, the mom claims in court papers.
Lara even posted a video of himself mocking Juan’s complaint against him, sim- ulating a gun “with his fingers to his head, stating that he was ’gonna use it,’ ” according to the lawsuit.
Juan obtained an order of protection against the bully, officials said. The terrified mom stayed home from work for weeks to safeguard her family, but eventually was forced to move to stay safe, she claims.
Lawyer Renee Myatt declined to say where the family relocated, citing safety concerns.
To add insult to injury, even though cops arrested Lara on Jan. 2 on aggravated harassment and harassment charges, it was Juan — a soccer-loving B student with hopes to play the sport in college — who was given a 90-day suspension and forbidden to return to school, Ortiz charges.
Lara received “lesser discipline” and was allowed to return to Bowne, Ortiz claims.
Lara allegedly skipped a court appearance in the case and is wanted on a bench warrant, according to the Queens DA’s Office.
The Department of Education said, “Nothing is more important than the safety of our students. We take these allegations extremely seriously, and we’ll review the lawsuit.”
The family is still cautious, Myatt said.
“Social media goes far and wide. These gangs are extremely dangerous,” she told The Post.
Lara could not be reached for comment, but his mom, who gave her name as Rosa, denied her son was in a gang or that he threatened Juan.
“I remember the mom, she called me, I told her he didn’t do it,” Rosa said.