Superior Court Judge Frank Cuthbertson said he was “extremely concerned about a number of things,” including:

 • Semaj’s more than 40 absences during the last school year, which the judge called excessive.

 • The fact that the boy’s mother, Sakinah Booker, directed Semaj to quit taking doctor-prescribed medication that helps him focus. A counselor said the drug was helping the boy succeed in school.

 • At least five reports to child protection agencies in two states regarding Booker’s children.

“I’m concerned about abuse or neglect,” the judge said.

Cuthbertson said the safest thing for Semaj – whose two attempts to run away via jet airplane have attracted national media attention – is for him to remain confined to Remann Hall, at least for now.

“I’m concerned about his safety, and I’m concerned about community safety,” the judge said. “The histories at play here are very serious, and at this time I am not satisfied that release home is the safe or appropriate release.”

The boy buried his head in his arms after the ruling.

Semaj has been in detention since his latest brush with the law, a July 5 arrest on suspicion of breaking into a Tacoma apartment. He got into trouble Monday for tearing up the mattress in his detention center room.

His mother wasn’t in court to hear Cuthbertson’s ruling. Formerly of Lakewood and now of Tacoma’s South End, she left early after an exchange with the judge toward the end of the hearing.

The proceeding was tense, as advocates on all sides argued forcefully for their position regarding the boy’s status.

Public defender John Austin asked Cuthbertson to release Semaj to the custody of his mother. It would be easier for Semaj to get the mental health care and other services he needs, including family therapy, outside Remann Hall, Austin said.

“Semaj would be much better off out of custody,” he said.

Juvenile probation officer Kelly Downey-Chamberlain supported Austin’s request, saying it would be best for the boy to go home.

Deputy prosecutors Angelica McGaha and Fred Wist argued that Semaj should remain locked up. Wist told the judge the boy could get the medical care and counseling he needs in detention.

Wist also said he thought Semaj would be safer in detention than at home, where he’s shown a penchant for sneaking out and getting into trouble.

“We have an individual who is 11 years old who has had occasion to make it out of the county, to use public transportation, to walk from his home at 11 o’clock at night back in May and get on a public bus and go to Sea-Tac (Airport) where he arrived somewhere about 4 or 5 in the morning,” Wist said.

That was a reference to Semaj’s trip to the airport May 27, where he talked his way through security and tried to board an airliner to Sacramento without a ticket.

It was the second time the boy had pulled such a stunt. The first was last year, when he made it all the way to Texas before being caught.

Exchanges between Cuthbertson and Sakinah Booker were testy at times as the judge probed for answers about her home life and Semaj’s upbringing.

At one point, Booker interrupted the judge when he mistakenly said she’d taken Semaj to New York in violation of a court order that restricted the boy’s travel to the Puget Sound region. She actually took him to Southern California last year to appear on the “Dr. Phil” television show.

“New York? No, that’s not true. I didn’t go to New York,” Booker said.

Cuthbertson, who was in the middle of issuing his ruling, told Booker she’d have to be quiet. She left court instead.

Before leaving, Sakinah Booker explained to the judge that almost all her son’s absences were excused by school officials. Some resulted from medical emergencies within the family and some from Semaj being bullied at school by kids who heard of his troubles and teased him about them, the single mother of five said.

Booker said she withdrew Semaj from school toward the end of the year because she didn’t think school officials were responding to her son’s needs properly and in fact did not want him to come back following his latest trip to Sea-Tac Airport.

“I’m tired of the school system,” she said. “I’m tired of how they’re treating my son.”

She also told Cuthbertson she took Semaj off his medication when he began suffering side effects including insomnia and lack of appetite.

Booker said the referrals to child protection agencies resulted from simple misunderstandings or, in one case, when she called to ask for help in controlling her son. All the cases are closed, she said.

Martha Myers, a caseworker with a local social service agency attached to Semaj’s old school, said her colleagues have been working to help the Booker family.

“Everything we’ve asked Sakinah to do, she’s been very compliant,” Myers told the judge. “She’s been very open to our involvement with her family.”

Cuthbertson held open the possibility that Semaj could be released before his latest criminal case is resolved. The boy is charged with residential burglary and lying to police in connection with the July 5 incident.

But the judge asked for a number of reports before he would reconsider it, including a new mental health evaluation of Semaj and more information about the reports to child protection agencies.

Cuthbertson said he needs an accurate assessment about whether Semaj “will be safe at home and whether or not releasing him to his mother would meet the statutory requirement that I have to meet, which is releasing him to a responsible adult.”

Semaj is scheduled to be in court again July 31. At that time, attorneys will argue whether he has the capacity to understand the difference between right and wrong and if the latest criminal case against him should be prosecuted.

He’s on probation for a car theft conviction from last year.

Adam Lynn: 253-597-8644

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