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Mom Brought Knife to School for 10-Year-Old 'for Protection,' Attorney Says

By Erin Meyer | April 16, 2014 7:41am
 Quincita Fleming, 27, was arrested Monday after she allegedly brought a knife to Ronald Brown Elementary in West Pullman and gave it to her 10-year-old son for protection, prosecutors said.
Quincita Fleming, 27, was arrested Monday after she allegedly brought a knife to Ronald Brown Elementary in West Pullman and gave it to her 10-year-old son for protection, prosecutors said.
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Cook County Sheriffs Department

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — After her son was beaten so badly at Ronald Brown Elementary that he had to be hospitalized, Quincita Fleming decided the 10-year-old might have to "protect himself," attorneys said.

The 27-year-old mother of three went to the West Pullman school, at 12607 S. Union Ave., on Monday, asked to see her son and slipped him a knife with a 3½-inch blade, prosecutors alleged. A short time later, the boy was in music class and the knife fell out of his pocket.

A school official saw the knife and declared a schoolwide emergency, prosecutors said.

Fleming, of the 12900 block of South Normal Street, appeared briefly in court Tuesday for a bond hearing.

Her attorney, Jonathan Goldman, said the boy had recently been beaten in a classroom by other students with a teacher present. The boy had to be taken to the hospital, he said.

Fleming allegedly told police after her arrest that she wanted the boy to be able to protect himself, prosecutors said.

Goldman said Fleming, who has no prior criminal record, is in the U.S. military and is currently working to obtain a bachelor's degree in criminal justice.

A Cook County judge placed Fleming on home detention pending a hearing and warned her not to go anywhere near the school.

Officials from CPS did not comment.