ALAMOSA — School Superintendent Robert Alejo has been charged with felony second-degree assault in an incident that occurred just over a year ago involving his alleged attack with a baseball bat. According to the complaint in Alamosa County Court, Alejo “unlawfully and feloniously caused bodily injury to David Silvas, by means of a deadly weapon, namely: a baseball bat.”

The incident occurred on or about July 19, 2019. The complaint was dated March 17, 2020, and was filed by Kaitlyn B. Turner, district attorney for the 11th Judicial District based in Salida. He was served with a summons on that date according to court records. Robert Willett, district attorney for the 12th district, said Friday that the case was turned over to the 11th district due to conflicts of interest.

The chief investigator for Willett’s office is Harry Alejo, Robert’s father, and Willett’s wife is a school teacher in the Alamosa district. The case was apparently turned over to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) Pueblo office by the Alamosa Police Department, also presumably due to a possible conflict of interest. Court documents indicate that Robert Alejo, 54, Is represented by attorney Joseph A. Koncilja of Pueblo. He has appeared in county court several times for status hearings and is next scheduled to appear on Aug. 11 at 3 p.m. for a disposition hearing before Judge Daniel Walzl.

According to Michael Mumper, vice president of the Alamosa School board, he didn’t learn of the charges until this past Friday and feels several other board members were not aware as well. Board president Elias Heredia could not be reached. “This is a very serious set of charges,” Mumper said, “and the board will take appropriate action as quickly as we can.” Mumper and fellow board members A

pril Gonzales and Katrina Brown were elected to the board last November. In an email response, Gonzales said she was not aware of the charges against Alejo until the past few weeks. “As a member of the school board, I am troubled and disappointed that the school district has not shared this information with the Board,” Gonzales wrote. “While I recognize that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, I think it is imperative that the school district and the superintendent be transparent to the school board and more importantly to the public.

“Superintendent Alejo should be treated in the same manner as any employee of the school district who has been charged, but not convicted. “I certainly think that in order to make informed decisions additional information is necessary and that a meeting should be held as soon as possible to discuss these issues. As public officials, our actions and behaviors should be transparent and open for proper public scrutiny.”

The Valley Courier first learned of the charges last week in a letter from a concerned reader. Attempts to secure more information on the case from CBI were unsuccessful. The Courier also attempted to reach Alejo for comment by phone and email.