Columnist Ken McCall: Community finds cracks in Cement Family’s actions

Ken McCall

Friday, March 14, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

IF BARBARA "CEMENT MOM" Anderson thinks she's generated a lot of local sympathy with her whirlwind nationwide media assault on Las Vegas police and school officials, she's in for a rude awakening.

Judging by the response to my Monday column taking Anderson to task for her talk-show attacks and stubborn refusal to admit her 9-year-old son Jeremy has done anything wrong, there's a volcano of resentment ready to erupt out there.

As of Thursday, 72 hours after the column ran, I've received 88 calls, e-mails, faxes and letters. All but nine supported the column and were critical of the mother. That's roughly 10-1 against the Cement Duo.

And that doesn't count the dozens of calls to the SUN's "Where You Stand" telephone line. Those have also been overwhelmingly critical of Anderson.

The same has been true down at the district attorney's office, where the calls have been pouring in.

According to Bob Teuton, chief deputy district attorney in charge of juvenile prosecutions, the calls ran 2-1 in favor of the mother for the first two days after the story broke early last week. But as more information came out, Teuton says, the calls turned around and have been running 90 percent in favor of prosecution ever since.

The vociferous public response played a part in the decision to press a criminal charge against young Jeremy.

"One of the things we look at is community values and morals," Teuton says. "The calls gave us a good sense the community felt this (prosecution) would be an appropriate action."

A little background: Barbara Anderson went nationally ballistic last week over the arrest of her son for causing more than $7,000 damage to 350 feet of freshly poured cement in northwest Las Vegas.

She went to New York City and appeared on national television talk shows accusing police and school officials of mishandling Jeremy's case, and castigating them for arresting him at school without her knowledge and for subjecting him to the now-infamous strip search at Juvenile Hall.

She neglected to say, however, that she didn't respond to police requests to discuss the issue for more than a month, that she hadn't provided the school with her current work number, that her son was taken discretely from school by a plainclothes officer, that he was allowed to keep his boxer shorts on during the Juvenile Hall search, and that even he said the search wasn't really embarrassing.

But even worse, she has continued to insist her son did nothing wrong and has refused to apologize for his destructive actions.

And that, Teuton says, is another reason Jeremy faces prosecution.

The only time the courts become involved in a case with a child this young, the prosecutor says, "is when the parents refuse to."

"If we have a situation where the parent is ignoring or condoning the acts of the child, we're left with no alternative but to come in and take over for the parents."

So Jeremy is accused of -- and has pleaded not guilty to -- malicious destruction of private property. That's classified as a "delinquent act" in Nevada, where children under 12 cannot be prosecuted for felonies. He faces, at most, probation, Teuton says, because children under 12 cannot be committed to any institution.

But the court could order the parents to pay restitution if Jeremy is found guilty. They can also be ordered, Teuton says, "to refrain from conduct that would contribute to the delinquency of the child." Counseling or therapy could be required.

In addition, Jeremy could very well get a permanent mark on his record. A mark that could come back to haunt him later in life. A mark that could have been avoided altogether if his mother had acted responsibly.

Meanwhile, the calls and letters keep pouring into Cement Central -- a number of them from the Andersons' neighborhood.

"I'm glad that someone finally had the nerve to call it like it really is," said one caller. "I live in that part of town. This boy has terrorized the neighborhood for several months.

"His mother is walking on the bodies of the community people up here who are trying to keep this place intact. It's really a shame that the media goes for this nonsense."

But many were summed up by 20-year Las Vegan Claire Brenaman.

"I don't feel you went far enough," said the Sunrise Mountain resident. "With the kid's mother being on the talk-show circuit, she should be able to pay for the concrete.

"He should be made to pay. His mother should be made to realize she has to take responsibility for her son."

Maybe the Cement Family will wake up and see they're playing a losing hand, that the law and the community are against them, that they don't have a prayer with a jury in this town.

Maybe they'll come to their senses and call off their legal dogs, drop their big lawsuit plans, cut their losses now, avoid that mark on Jeremy's record.

Maybe they'll even admit they're in the wrong.

Hey, this is Las Vegas. Anything can happen.