Father of California boy genius gets three years probation

Wednesday December 18, 2002

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) Agustin De Mello, the troubled father of a boy genius who graduated from college at age 11, has received three years probation for gunshots he fired during an armed standoff with police in 2001.

De Mello, 73, was convicted on a felony gun charge. His trial had been delayed and later postponed because he suffers from bladder cancer, once thought by prosecutors to be terminal. De Mello has since undergone radiation therapy and surgery.

``I think it was the appropriate outcome,'' District Attorney Kate Canlis said Tuesday. ``A person can have sympathy for his health, but what he did is still dangerous. He can't just decide to fire a loaded gun at people.''

Prosecutors decided to resume their case against him after learning that he was felling well enough to sign on to teach a karate seminar in Massachusetts. De Mello is accomplished in martial arts, flamenco guitar and has lifted weights competitively for years.

De Mello called authorities on March 15, 2001, saying he was suffering from a long illness and that he was bleeding to death in a bathtub. When police went to his home, he refused to let them in. Officers kicked in his door and shots were fired. An injured officer later was found to have been grazed by a bullet fired by another officer.

De Mello and his son, Adragon, became the center of a national debate in the 1980s over parents pushing children toward academic achievement. Adragon graced magazine covers for his academic achievements after he graduated with a degree in computational mathematics at age 11.

The elder De Mello has said he will appeal his conviction.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)