New details have surfaced in the case against a former Edgewood Elementary School teaching aide who faces gun and drug charges, including claims that he gave marijuana to a young teenager on a basketball court in July.

The new information prompted Harford County Circuit Judge Kevin Mahoney to hold Kairen Thomas, 28, of Parkville, without bail Friday.

According to Thomas’ attorney, Harford County Public Schools fired Thomas only after The Baltimore Sun published a Dec. 5 story revealing that police had allegedly found him with a gun in July, while he was on probation for a separate “ghost gun” charge from 2024.

“He was terminated after the story broke,” Thomas’ attorney Katrina Smith told the judge Friday.

News of Thomas’ arrest led several legislators to renew questions about how the public school system handles employees who face criminal charges. Thomas’ arrests came on the heels of earlier revelations that Harford Schools hired another educator while he was awaiting trial on wire fraud and tax evasion charges (he eventually pled guilty). State Del. Lauren Arikan, a Republican who represents Harford County, has called for Superintendent Sean Bulson to be removed after learning of each incident.

New charges against Thomas filed last week include information that Thomas gave cannabis to a young teenager on July 9, Harford County prosecutor David Ryden said.

Thomas, who was on probation at the time, claimed he was selling his leftover medical cannabis to recoup the cost, Ryden said.

The school system originally hired Thomas in April 2023 to be an inclusion helper at Edgewood Elementary, serving students with disabilities. He continued to be employed by Harford Schools after being charged in a ghost gun case in 2024 and was only fired after the July illegal firearm possession charges came to light in The Sun earlier this month.

Harford school board president Aaron Poynton said he’s working on a policy that would ban the school system from hiring or continuing to employ people charged with serious offenses.

After Thomas’ charges were publicized, Harford Schools Superintendent Sean Bulson pledged to review what led to this situation “to ensure this does not happen again.”

Thomas has two young children, graduated from New Town High School in Owings Mills and briefly attended Frostburg State University, his attorney told the judge.

The judge, explaining his decision to hold Thomas without bail, noted that he was concerned about Thomas’ “significantly enhanced” charges, including being charged with felonies.

The new charges that he gave drugs to a child, “on a public basketball court,” are “disturbing,” the judge said.

He also said public awareness of the case raises the risk that Thomas could try to flee. The judge declined the defense attorney’s request to put Thomas on home monitoring, saying that there have been people who escape with an ankle monitor or break it.

Have a news tip? Contact Bryna Zumer at bzumer@baltsun.com, or on X as @brynazumer.