The former director of TUSD’s Mexican American Studies program, Sean Arce, has entered a guilty plea and has agreed to enter a diversion program for one of the three domestic violence charges brought against him from an incident in December with his ex-wife. Two of the charges were dropped.
The man who claimed to have created “Barrio Pedagogy” which is the foundation of TUSD’s former Mexican American Studies classes was arrested for domestic violence in December after Tucson Police responded to two calls of Domestic Violence and “a break-in in progress.”
According to police reports, the string of violence began at La Cocina, in the 200 block of North Court when Arce approached his ex-wife; Essence Arce. Witnesses reported that Arce had grabbed Ms. Arce’s elbow, hyper extending her elbow. Arce was “forcibly pulling her away from her friend….. Unknown bar patrons intervened and separated” Arce from his ex-wife.” Once Ms. Arce “was free” of Arce, “the two (women) fled.” They drove to Ms. Arce’s home.
After a short while, the friend called Ms. Arce to advise her that she had seen Arce in the neighborhood walking toward Ms. Arce’s home. Immediately after she got the phone call, someone started banging loudly on the sliding glass door at the rear of the home. Ms. Arce “fled the home through the garage and left” in a friend’s car, while another friend called 911. Ms. Arce awaited the police at a friend’s home.
Prior to the arrival of the police a neighbor also reported a break-in in progress. The neighbor advised police that he had heard banging at his neighbor’s house and went to investigate. The neighbor found a man unknown to him inside the home. He appeared to be bleeding from his right hand. The neighbor yelled out and Arce responded, “Are you a cop?” Arce then fled down the hallway and exited out through the garage.
The neighbor followed Arce until he (Arce) got into a white sedan.
When police arrived they found “the front door to the residence and garage door open and two windows on the eastside of the home were broken, one completely out.“ One officer “found blood on some glass by the broken window and also on the front door.”
Ms. Arce told police that Arce was “staying at the Marriott resort at 3800 W. Star Pass to celebrate his birthday,” according to the police report. Officers responded to the Marriott and confirmed that Arce was staying there.
They went to his room and detained him. Arce had dried blood on his right hand according to an officer.
Arce was placed under arrest and taken to the Pima County Jail where he was booked for Domestic Violence Assault, Domestic Violence Damage, and Domestic Violence Trespassing.
Just this month, federal judge, Wallace Tashima found that the law which prohibited many of the teaching practices employed by the Mexican American Studies teachers was Constitutional. Last year Judge Lewis Kowal found that the classes created resentment in students towards other ethnicities.