By Rosalio Ahumada, McClatchy Newspapers –
MODESTO, Calif. — A prosecutor on Tuesday convinced a judge that a former Modesto high school teacher is a flight risk after authorities learned of his plans to leave the country in April with an 18-year-old former student he was living with. He was arrested last week on a charge of sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl in 1998.
Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff ordered James Hooker, 41, of Modesto to surrender his passport while he remains free on $50,000 bail.
The judge, however, did not grant the prosecution’s request to confine Hooker to Stanislaus County or the state. He warned Hooker that “if you miss one court date, there will be a substantial increase to your bail.”
Hooker, a former Enochs High School teacher, first attracted national media attention in February when he left his wife and three daughters and quit his job to move into an apartment with Jordan Powers, an 18-year-old Enochs student.
He was arrested Friday at the couple’s apartment on a charge stemming from a romantic relationship with another high school student 14 years ago. Hooker has been charged with one count of committing oral copulation of a person under 18.
Detectives initially began to investigate Hooker in January after Tammie Powers reported an inappropriate relationship between her daughter and Hooker. Jordan Powers moved in with Hooker — her former business teacher — on Feb. 22, the day he resigned from Modesto City Schools.
During that investigation, the detectives learned of the alleged victim from August 1998. She told police she was involved in a romantic relationship with Hooker that summer after she graduated from Beyer High School. She was 17, and he was teaching at Davis High.
Hooker appeared in court Tuesday morning for a pretrial hearing. Law enforcement officials retrieved his passport from his estranged wife, Deanna Hooker, and submitted it to the court during a continued hearing in the afternoon.
Tammie Powers attended both hearings. She said she believes Hooker will leave the country “because he’s lost everything. He’s lost his wife, his job and his girlfriend.”
“I’m disappointed,” Powers said in the courthouse hallway after the second hearing. “I was hoping he would be confined to Stanislaus County. He’s a flight risk.”
Hooker’s relationship with Jordan Powers became public after Tammie Powers began castigating Hooker on her Facebook page. The former couple then told The Modesto Bee they met when Powers was a freshman at Enochs, but both have said the romance didn’t bloom until months after she turned 18 in September.
Jordan Powers says her relationship with Hooker is over. She reunited with her mother and has since left to an undisclosed location.
Deputy District Attorney Beth O’Hara Owen told the judge that investigators have a notebook that had a scribbled itinerary for flights to Canada in April and May. She said the notes also indicate that Hooker was going to Canada with Jordan Powers, and that the teenager needed to obtain a passport.
Tammie Powers told authorities she found the notebook while moving her daughter out of Hooker’s apartment Friday, shortly after his arrest.
Owen told the judge Hooker is a flight risk because he has been trying to reach Jordan Powers, who is out of state.
“He wants to go find Jordan Powers,” Owen argued. “He wants to continue the relationship with this teenager.”
Public defender Marlon Simon has been assigned to represent Hooker. He told the judge that Hooker had made plans for a cruise weeks before the alleged victim came forward to police.
Simon told the judge Hooker is facing “unfortunate sensationalism” and a “barrage” of news media. He said his client might need to leave the county to seek refuge.
“He’s harassed wherever he goes,” Simon argued in court. “Mr. Hooker is innocent until proven guilty. He’s no different than any other man or woman.”
Authorities have indicated in court documents that Hooker has no criminal history.
The defense attorney told the judge his client is not a flight risk, and a vast majority of his finances are tied up in his divorce proceedings. He said Hooker has “minimal” incentive to flee. “He’s a national figure, there’s no place for him to go.”
Zeff said he was satisfied with Hooker surrendering his passport. “I think he’s shown good faith, so far. He’s shown up to all his hearings,” the judge said.
The judge scheduled Hooker to return to court May 15 for another pretrial hearing. Simon told Zeff it’s possible Hooker will try to hire a private attorney to represent him.
Zeff also granted a restraining order against Hooker for him to stay away from the alleged victim. She is listed as “Jane Doe” in the criminal complaint.
Court officials moved the hearing to a different courtroom to accommodate local and national media who arrived at the courthouse Tuesday. The cameras stayed outside in the hallway, while reporters went into the courtroom.
Zeff continued a hearing in the Hookers’ divorce case until April 24; Deanna Hooker did not appear in court. She is seeking a divorce on grounds of “irreconcilable differences,” according to court documents filed Feb. 24. They would have been married 20 years this week.
She is seeking full custody of their three daughters — ages 17, 13 and 10 — along with full spousal and child support. He is seeking visitation rights.
