SAN ANTONIO – A 13-year-old boy accused of planning a mass attack at Rhodes Middle School earlier this year will remain in custody, a Bexar County judge ruled on Thursday.
At his detention hearing, the judge said that the teen will remain in custody so he can continue to receive mental health services.
The student’s next detention hearing is set for Aug. 21, and his next court date will be Aug. 28, according to court records.
The teen was arrested in May after San Antonio police said he showed up to Rhodes Middle School campus wearing a mask, a camouflage jacket and tactical pants. While he was initially taken into custody on a terrorism charge, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office has only formally charged him with possession of a prohibited weapon.
His mother, Ashley Pardo, is also facing charges in connection with the case.
Aside from her charge of aiding in commission of terrorism, Pardo was arrested last week on a charge of abandoning or endangering a child with criminal negligence, according to a warrant obtained by KSAT.
Court records indicate that Pardo was released on bond on Monday. The conditions of her bond require her to wear an ankle monitor and not be in possession of alcohol or firearms.
The teen’s grandmother told the court on June 24 that she believes the child was manipulated and abused while living with Pardo.
Despite the grandmother’s plea for the teen’s release into her care, a judge ordered that Pardo’s son remain in custody.
Newly released court documents have also shed light on the teen’s criminal history. The state’s Fourth Court of Appeals recently ruled that he must face a retrial in connection with a 2023 arson case that ended in a mistrial in 2024.
The teen — who was 11 years old at the time — is accused of setting fire to dumpsters at the Barcelo Apartments complex near the Interstate 10-Loop 410 interchange.
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