Texas HS Student Jailed for Wearing Belt Buckle to School

Mark Wells believes he has a good sense of fashion.

"I try to make different things that don't normally go together, work," said the 18-year-old.

So, he thought a belt buckle he purchased would work well for his back-to-school ensemble. On the first day of classes at South Houston High, however, the junior found out from an assistant principal that it wasn't welcomed at school.

There was more to it than that.

"I was searched and took to jail," said Wells.

Not only jailed, he was also suspended from school and charged with a third degree felony for bringing a weapon to school. The weapon, as it turns out, was the belt buckle that was shaped like a set of brass knuckles that he and his mother had purchased just a few days prior at a store in Almeda Mall.

"We never thought it was brass knuckles. Of course not. If we thought it was brass knuckles, I would have taken it back to the store," said Wells' mother Crystal Batiste.

Now she wonders if the store should be held accountable and she blames the Pasadena school district for overreacting.

The storeowner insists he did nothing wrong and said it's up to the parent to judge what is proper for a child to wear at school. A Pasadena school district spokesperson said the district's hands were tied.

"The district and students operate under rules set by the state. These rules are provided to students in the Student Code of Conduct," the district said in a statement. "For the safety of other students and staff, if a student commits certain offenses, a school district is required by the state to expel that student from school."

That explanation doesn't satisfy community activist Quannel X.

"In fact, the officer I believe used poor judgment and saw an opportunity to put a kid in jail," said Quannel X.

A kid with worried family members who think fashion and felonies don't mix.

"To know that the first day of school, he's in county jail. Is not acceptable," said Wells' aunt Shanedria Ridley.