O.C. Teen Back in Class After Attack at School

A military school cadet from Laguna Hills whose throat was slashed while he was sleeping, allegedly by two classmates, is living alone in a dorm room fortified with locks, while eight other students have dropped out, school officials said Thursday.

Also, the drill instructor who supervised the accused cadets and lived in the dormitory where the attack took place was fired last week, and the suspects, one of whom remains in jail, have been suspended, Marine Military Academy officials said.

Christopher Lee Boze and Jeremiah George Jensen, both 17, were arrested last week on charges of attempted murder, school spokesman Robert Beckley said.

Boze, of nearby Olmito, and Jensen, of Vancouver, Wash., are accused of slashing the throat of Gabriel Cortez, 18.

Cortez, a senior, received 28 stitches. He returned to class Monday after his sutures were removed, his mother said.

“He’s coping pretty well,” Fabiola Lynch said by telephone from her Laguna Hills home. “He said he was determined he wasn’t going to let this change his pattern or his goals.”

Lynch said she asked that her son be given his own room and that locks be put on the door; the school complied.

Parents have withdrawn eight other students since the Oct. 6 attack, Beckley said. About 480 students from 29 states and several countries are enrolled at the private school in grades eight through 12.

Jensen and Boze, who were roommates, allegedly sneaked into Cortez’s dorm room about 3 a.m. Cortez told police he was awakened by someone climbing on top of him. Other cadets, who came running when they heard Cortez’s shouts, identified Boze and Jensen as his attackers, police said.

Neither school officials nor police would comment on a possible motive for the attack.

Boze’s attorney said his client is innocent. “I would be real surprised to find him associated with that kind of conduct,” Rick Hoffman said.

Boze, who is free on $100,000 bond, is trying to enroll at another school, Hoffman said.

Jensen remains jailed in lieu of bond. Attempts to determine if he had hired an attorney were unsuccessful Thursday.