Former HISD employees accused in teacher cheating scheme try to avoid cameras at first court hearing

HOUSTON – Three of the five defendants accused in a yearslong Houston-based cheating scandal, involving hundreds of unqualified teachers getting certified to teach at schools statewide, appeared before a district court judge for the first time Friday.

BACKGROUND: 200 unqualified teachers certified in $1M Houston-based cheating scheme

The three former HISD staff staff members taken into custody Monday had brief court appearances, in which Judge Melissa Morris lowered bond for one of them, as she did the other two earlier in the week.

Vincent Grayson, 57, the former head boys basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston ISD, was charged as the “kingpin” in the cheating scheme.

He appeared in court while out on bond alongside family members and his defense team, who said they are taking the allegations seriously but he should still be presumed innocent.

"What would your message be to people who have lost trust in Coach Grayson?" KPRC 2’s Bryce Newberry asked.

“Our message would be what my father would say. I’m a product of a father who was a minister, who was a principal who had to drive the bus when people didn’t show up. He would tell us not to throw him away, but to reclaim him. And so we hope at the right period of time, if it becomes that the evidence is overwhelming, he will do as all of us should do, accept responsibility and rebuild. But at this stage, we’re not there yet,” defense attorney Cheryl Irvin said.

Grayson wore a full suit and sometimes a baseball cap while at the courthouse, appearing to try to avoid media attention after the case has received national attention.

Nicholas Newton, 35, an assistant principal at the school where Grayson worked was also arrested and is accused of taking at least 430 tests to help teacher applicants pass. He remains behind bars with a lower bond of $50,000.

LaShonda Roberts, 39, another assistant principal at Jack Yates High School, is accused of recruiting nearly 100 teachers to participate in the scheme. She is also out on bond and when she spotted a camera pointed in her direction, got up and moved in an attempt to avoid being filmed.

“We’ve seen this (District Attorney’s) office make high profile allegations before, only to have the case quietly filed away because the evidence isn’t there. We’ve seen nothing compelling here. And I want everyone to remember that my client is innocent unless and until proven guilty,” her defense attorney Brandon Leonard said after court.

EXPLAINER: How alleged $1M Houston-based teacher cheating scheme worked

Late Thursday night, a fourth defendant, Darian Wilhite, was booked into the Harris County Jail. The 22-year-old test proctor is accused of accepting $250 in cash from Grayson each time she’d allow Newton to test in the seat of a teacher applicant.

Her bond was set at $75,000 when she appeared in probable cause court early Friday morning.

A fifth defendant, 51-year-old Tywana Gilford Mason, has not yet been taken into custody. She’s the former director/VA certifying official at the Houston Training and Education Center, who also allegedly accepted money from Grayson to keep the scheme undetected.

The scheme, reportedly worth over a million dollars, involved securing teaching positions for individuals who did not meet certification requirements and falsifying their credentials, according to the Harris County DA’s office.

RELATED: What will happen to teachers who participated in Houston-based, million dollar certification scam?

Records showed about 430 fake tests were taken and more than 210 unqualified teachers were certified in this scheme, who are now practicing or practiced at Texas public schools and in districts across the state.

SEE ALSO: More than 800 uncertified teachers started the school year in Houston ISD

So far, prosecutors and the Texas Education Agency have not provided names of teachers who may have been fraudulently certified nor the school districts where they are employed, despite multiple requests from KPRC 2.

The TEA has promised an investigation and appropriate action against any educator involved, and HISD has said it will fire any teacher certified in this way.