An Indianapolis mother was sentenced after boarding a Greenwood school bus with her partner in October 2025 and attacking elementary school students who she said bullied her child.
Raven Barner, 26, pleaded guilty to two counts of battery on a person younger than 14 years old and resisting law enforcement. On May 21, she was sentenced to one year in prison followed by one year of active probation. She must also complete a mental health evaluation.
On Oct. 31, 2025, police were called to the intersection of Dover Drive and Scarborough Lane for a disturbance aboard a Greenwood Community Schools Corporation bus. According to court documents, Barner and her partner fled before officers arrived.
Students at the scene told police the couple “got onto the bus and began yelling at multiple students for bullying their child.”
Security footage from the bus showed Barner told a student she was going to “beat his a–.” Police said she was seen pushing her child toward that schoolmate, “encouraging him to start an altercation.”
Barner then hit another child, striking a third in the process. Her partner threw a fourth child to the ground and allowed his son to hit the child repeatedly, police allege in court documents. The couple shoved the child’s head into a bus seat and Ridley pushed him “hard enough to hit the side of the bus.”
After reviewing security footage, police later pulled over Barner and her partner — Donquarious Ridley, 27, of Indianapolis — the couple as they were driving away from their house.
Ridley has been charged with two counts of battery on a person less than 14 years old and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. His next court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 25.
IndyStar reached out to Barner’s attorney for comment and did not immediately receive a response. Attempts to reach Barner were unsuccessful.
Mia Thurow is the breaking news and criminal justice reporting intern for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at mthurow@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis mother sentenced after boarding Greenwood school bus, hitting kids over bullying
Reporting by Mia Thurow, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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