Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
Several months after former Yelm Community Schools bus driver James Ruiz was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, on sex charges related to minors, Yelm resident E. Wyatt Mendel is pushing for transparency from the school district.
The FBI collaborated with the Yelm Police Department (YPD) nearly two months ago to arrest the former YCS bus driver, Ruiz, on charges of first-degree child molestation, first-degree rape of a child and first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
According to the Thurston County Jail roster, bail was set at $100,000 for the first-degree child molestation charge, and another $100,000 bond set for the first-degree child rape charge. Additionally, there is a $50,000 bond set for his first-degree charge of possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
During a YCS Board of Directors meeting in May, Mendel told the board that he would be requesting the public records of Ruiz and former Yelm High School (YHS) Principal Ryan Akiyama — who currently sits on administrative leave in the Olympia School District due to un-related allegations.
On Friday, June 12, Mendel shared a link to his Facebook page that, if clicked on, brought up 22 different files relating to Ruiz, the investigation and more. All of the files requested and provided by Mendel can be viewed at https://tinyurl.com/49ah2uj4.
Student allegations of misconduct
In total, six students were interviewed about any potential misconduct from Ruiz on his bus route. Those interviewed included: a sixth grade student at Yelm Middle School, a fifth grade student from Prairie Elementary School; an 11th grade student from YHS; another fifth grade student from Prairie Elementary School; a seventh grade student from Ridgeline Middle School; and a fifth grade student from Prairie Elementary School.
The interviews were conducted by Mark Bowden, YMS Principal, Sarah Bennie, Prairie Elementary School Counselor, Craig Curry, former RMS Principal, and Chris Clark, former YHS Assistant Principal.
Two students reported on April 18, 2024, that bus driver Jim Ruiz was allegedly “touching girls’ butts.” The report claims that the two students further reported that Ruiz yelled at him, but it “did not seem to be related” to the accusation of groping.
In a separate incident, a different student asked Jeff Adams, former YCS Transportation Director, on April 18, 2024, if he was Ruiz’s boss — and told Adams that Ruiz “should be fired.”
In a report written by Kristy McGuire-Madigan, with Route 102, an allegation against Ruiz states that a student got on the bus around 6:44 a.m. on April 19, 2024, and stated that his sister and friend claimed that Ruiz, identified as the driver of Route 28 in the report, was inappropriately touching girls and calling them “kitty” on the bus.
Also on April 19, 2024, Adams reported that he received a call from Curry several months ago which indicated that a female student made “potentially grievous accusations” against Ruiz. According to the report, Curry investigated the allegations and “found them to be false.”
Bowden also interviewed a student at YMS on April 19, 2024, and claimed a student was making a “second-hand report” regarding the bus incidents on Ruiz’s route. The YMS Principal claimed the student “did not witness any of the allegations referenced.”
An interview between Bennie and a fifth grade student at Prairie Elementary School on April 22, 2024, shows the student admits the riders of their bus route believe the route was canceled on April 22, 2024, because their “driver got fired.”
The student claimed that Ruiz turned the music volume all the way up because the kindergarteners and first graders were “being too loud.” The student also alleged that kindergarteners were screaming because they couldn’t hear, and that the incident transpired on April 10, 2024.
“He kept yelling at them. A few days before he had parked in someone’s driveway,” the student said, in an interview transcript from April 22, 2024. “He kept yelling for everyone to be quiet. He told us, ‘I get paid by the hour. We’ll stay here all night.’”
In a separate interview with a Prairie Elementary School fifth grader on April 23, 2024 — unclear if it’s with the same student from a day prior — it’s alleged that Ruiz calls his helpers “kittens.”
The student also claimed that Ruiz “likes to play with girls’ hair when they got off the bus. He touches girls’ butts.”
When asked “who” after claiming Ruiz touched the student’s butts, the Prairie Elementary School student claimed, “Don’t know. I haven’t seen it. He touched mine. When I was getting off the bus to go home, I felt something touch or grab my butt. I turned to look at him. He was looking at me. He moved his hand away when I looked. I am 100% sure he touched my butt.”
The student also claimed they told their mom everything, and that their mother “was so mad she couldn’t speak.”
Additionally, the student said they’ve “heard stories about (Ruiz) playing with girls’ hair and butts,” and said they do not feel safe on the bus. The student also described Ruiz as a “psychopath.”
Bus driver’s notice of administrative leave
Ruiz received notice from the YCS District Office on April 19, 2024, that he was being placed on administrative leave status, effective immediately.
Specifically, the email from DeeDee Buckingham, YCS director of human resources, wrote that the district received information “which, if true, could affect your fitness for duty as a bus driver” in Yelm.
The letter also stated that Ruiz would receive notice of the specific allegations under investigation at a later date, and that he was welcome to respond to them in an investigative conference.
During his administrative leave, Ruiz was instructed not to discuss the issues at hand with students, parents or co-workers. He was also directed to return any district property, including keys.
Investigation findings
Clear Risk Solutions pre-litigation program emailed Buckingham on June 19, 2024, with the findings of their investigation into Ruiz. Their 19-page letter summarized the steps taken in the investigation, the misconduct allegations and the facts gathered over the course of the investigation. It also covered three specific allegations and its findings from those claims.
Allegation 1: Ruiz touched students’ butts
“The preponderance of evidence did not substantiate this allegation. (Redacted) told me she saw Mr. Ruiz touch female students’ butts and (redacted) butt, but (redacted) recollection of his butt being touched did not match (redacted) observations. Mr. Adams stated he reviewed the bus surveillance footage for numerous dates and did not observe Mr. Ruiz touch any student’s butt.”
Allegation 2: Ruiz touched female students’ hair
“The preponderance of evidence did not substantiate this allegation. (Redacted) told me she saw Mr. Ruiz touch female students’ hair, but she claimed the students did not know it at the time. Other students interviewed by school staff did not support (redacted) statement. Furthermore, (redacted) reported to Ms. Bennie that Mr. Ruiz did not touch her hair, but in an interview with the investigator (Mr. Zeman), (redacted) said Mr. Ruiz touched her hair, but then she said she did not actually see Mr. Ruiz touch her hair. Mr. Adams stated he reviewed the bus surveillance footage for numerous dates and did not observe Mr. Ruiz touch any student’s hair.”
Allegation 3: Ruiz called students “kitty.”
“The preponderance of evidence did not substantiate this allegation. (Redacted) reported he overheard his sister and friend saying Mr. Ruiz called girls “kitty” and touched girls’ butts. (Redacted) stated his sister’s friend was (redacted). (Redacted) stated (Redacted) told him Mr. Ruiz called his two bus helpers “kittens,” but he never witnessed it. Mr. Adams stated he reviewed the bus surveillance footage for numerous dates and did not hear Mr. Ruiz refer to any student as ‘kitty.’”
Authorization to return to work
In an email addressed to Ruiz from Buckingham from June 20, 2024, titled, “Follow up - Administrative Leave with Pay and Conclusion,” the director of human resources thanked Ruiz for “meeting with the Clear Risk Solutions investigator on May 20, 2024.”
“I appreciate you answering questions regarding alleged incidents that occurred on your bus route during this school year,” Buckingham wrote. “You were placed on administrative leave on April 19, 2024, so that we could complete a fair and thorough process regarding the safety of students.
“We have completed our investigation and you are authorized to return to your normal work schedule on September 3, 2024, at the transportation department,” Buckingham continued.
Additionally, she wrote that through this investigation, YCS discovered that additional student management training needs to be performed. Buckingham also told Ruiz that the director of transportation would coordinate and communicate the training with him — and that he’d be paid his hourly rate to attend.
Statement from former Ridgeline Middle School Principal
On Jan. 25, 2024, a seventh grade female student at Ridgeline Middle School was brought to the office of Craig Curry, former RMS Principal, by her counselor, Melanie Keller, after reporting alleged inappropriate behavior by her bus driver — who she identified as “Mr. Jim,” the driver of Route 28.
The student claimed that the driver, “Mr. Jim,” put his hands on her brother — an 11th grade student at YHS. She claimed the bus driver grabbed her brother by his collar.
The seventh grade student made additional allegations towards the bus driver, including that he yells all the time; swerves on the road every morning; always smells like alcohol (stating she hadn’t smelled it, but her brother had); never has the bus camera on; never lets students open the windows, no matter what; misses bus stops; lets students off at stops that aren’t theirs; almost hit a student; and does not let students have their phones out.
In his letter, dated April 22, 2024, Curry wrote that he communicated these allegations to Adams, former YCS Transportation Director. He also contacted Clark, former YHS Assistant Principal, who said he would interview the RMS student’s brother.
After the interview, Clark called Curry and informed him that the YHS student did not confirm if he’d been grabbed by the bus driver, nor confirmed that he smelled alcohol on the bus driver. The high school student did say the bus driver did not allow him to use his cell phone.
Adams also reported that he had no evidence to confirm whether or not the allegations were true.
Ruiz’s resignation from YMS
In an email chain with Tami Kirkham on July 25, 2025, it’s made clear that YCS received Ruiz’s notice of resignation. His resignation date was listed as Aug. 31, 2025, in the email from Kirkham.
“I have typed a letter of resignation to be effective on August 31, 2025. It is on my computer which I cannot access from my phone,” Ruiz wrote to YCS last July. His resignation was made official during a YCS Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025.
Arrested by FBI
The FBI collaborated with YPD on Tuesday, April 21, to arrest the former YCS bus driver, Ruiz, on charges of first-degree child molestation, first-degree rape of a child and first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Yelm Superintendent Chris Woods issued a statement on the situation to YCS families on Wednesday, April 22, and confirmed that Ruiz was indeed a former employee of the district.
Woods wrote that the former employee was “arrested on deeply unsettling allegations that he committed serious crimes involving children.”
“Although we have very limited information at this time, we have been informed by the FBI that the allegations are not believed to involve YCS students and that the suspect is currently in custody,” Woods wrote, in May.
The superintendent added that residents can contact YPD at 360-458-5701 if they, or someone they know, have any questions or any relevant information to the situation.
“YCS and YPD stand with Yelm families with an unwavering commitment to the safety of the children in our community,” Woods wrote.
