Background: The apartment complex in Greenwood, Ind., where the alleged incident took place on Oct. 31 (Google Maps). Insets (left to right): Donquarious Ridley and Raven Barner (Johnson County Jail).
In a disturbing incident aboard a school bus in Indiana, the parents of a young student have been taken into custody following accusations of assaulting multiple children. The couple, Donquarious Ridley, aged 27, and Raven Barner, 25, now face serious legal charges stemming from their actions.
On Monday, Ridley and Barner were formally charged with two counts of battery against children under the age of 14. Additionally, Ridley faces a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. This development follows an incident reported on the morning of October 31, when authorities were alerted to an altercation at a Greenwood apartment complex, where the pair were reportedly seen boarding a school bus and aggressively confronting the young passengers.
Eyewitnesses, along with one of the children involved, indicated that the couple’s aggressive behavior was prompted by allegations that the children were bullying their son. Barner, identified as the boy’s stepmother, was seen engaging in a heated exchange with the children.
According to a police affidavit, the entire episode was captured on the bus’s surveillance cameras. The footage reportedly shows Ridley and Barner boarding the bus without the driver’s consent shortly after their son was picked up. The affidavit details that Barner launched into a verbal tirade against two of the children, threatening one child with physical harm and implying that she would encourage her stepson to retaliate.
As the confrontation escalated, the bus driver intervened, attempting to shield the children from Barner. Despite the driver’s efforts, Barner allegedly struck two of the kids, with one of the blows reportedly being unintended.
When the bus driver got up and put herself between Barner and one of the children, Barner allegedly struck two of the kids, one of them “inadvertently.”
Ridley was also allegedly seen on video telling his son to engage with the boy Barner allegedly hit. Police said that Ridley’s son complied and hit the other boy. Ridley then allegedly threw the boy to the ground, allowing his son to “begin striking him repeatedly.” Following his son’s alleged attack on the boy, Ridley then shoved another child back into one of the bus seats “hard enough to hit the side of the bus.”
Police tracked down Ridley and Barner while they were driving and initiated a traffic stop. Both parents were arrested and booked into the Johnson County Jail.
Ridley was charged with two counts of battery on a child under the age of 14 and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Barner was charged with two counts of battery on a child under the age of 14. Neither parent appeared on the Johnson County Jail roster on Tuesday.
Ridley is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 1; Barner is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 4.
