Mother says accused Wake Forest school trespasser has PTSD, but isn't threat

A Wake Forest mother asked Monday for compassion for her son, who's facing charges for trespassing at a nearby school.

Jones Dairy Elementary School has had an off-duty deputy patrolling the school since last week, shortly after Arthur Vladimir Kochetkov, 33, was charged with trespassing at the school.

A warrant was issued for a trespassing incident in June. Kochetkov was reportedly on the school playground wearing military fatigues.

His mother, Lessia Kochetkov, said he has been caught trespassing on the school property two times over the years, once on June 13, 2014 and again on June 13, 2018. But she insisted he's not a danger to the students or staff.

"They don't know Arthur, who he is. To them, he's a threat. To me, he is a child who has mental illness," Lessia Kochetkov said.

Two calls for service have been made to the suspect's address, according to John Jones, executive aid to the Wake County Sheriff.

Arthur Kochetkov graduated as the valedictorian of Warren County High School in 2003 and went on to college before joining the Army, his mother said. But when he was discharged five years ago, she said, he was diagnosed as bipolar and as having post-traumatic stress disorder.

Lessia Kochetkov said her son now spends a lot of time pacing in the family's backyard, which backs up to Jones Diary Elementary. She said she has been trying to get her son help for years.

"Nobody listens to me," she said. "Apparently, when they talk to Arthur, he sounds very normal, very intelligent. They think nothing is wrong with him."

But parents of Jones Dairy students say Arthur Kochetkov's behavior and several offensive comments toward the government he posted on Facebook give them reason to be concerned.

"If you have someone like that and they are on our school grounds, we don't want something happening and have everyone saying, 'Why didn't we do something?' because the red flags were there," parent Ranae Hill said.

Lessia Kochetkov said her son is now in a psychiatric hospital.

"Sometimes he does need help because the illness has its lows and highs, and when he is in that state of mind, he definitely is better off to stay at the hospital under psychiatric care," she said.