Family seeking release of Fishers man held in Spanish prison

Family members are desperately working for the release of a Carmel Clay Middle School teaching assistant who is held in a Spanish prison after he was arrested in Madrid during a vacation earlier this month.

Friends and family of 23-year-old Brett Wright characterize the arrest of the Fishers man as a mistake and possibly the result of racial profiling.

Officials with the U.S. State Department confirmed Wright was arrested in Madrid on March 15 but declined to say more about what the agency knows regarding the nature of the arrest.

Official sources would not confirm on what charges authorities are holding Wright. A USA Today reporter, working on behalf of The Indianapolis Star, called police agencies in Madrid. A spokeswoman there said Spanish law does not require authorities to release the names and charges of suspects arrested.

But the man's mother, Susan Wright, told The Indianapolis Star that through the U.S. Embassy in Madrid she and her husband learned Wright was arrested for fighting with police officers — an accusation that sounded preposterous to her, as well as to friends of Wright's who spoke with The Star.

"When we first heard that, we thought it was absurd," Susan Wright said. "He's never been in a fight in his life."

Brett Wright, who graduated from Drake University in May, flew to Spain on March 13 to enjoy a vacation as a graduation present. He was visiting his brother, whose University of Louisville soccer team was playing in Spain.

Brett Wright, though, did not meet up with his brother as planned shortly after he arrived in the country, his mother said.

"I went nuts," Susan Wright said, after no one in the family heard from Brett Wright after a couple of days.

The family employed the help of the U.S. Embassy, Indiana Sen. Dan Coats and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell and finally learned on March 18 that Wright was arrested three days before.

Brett Wright's father, Dale, flew to Spain and remains there now, working with a lawyer to secure his son's release.

Susan Wright said her husband has visited his son, who told him this story:

Brett Wright was on a train platform in Madrid when two men dressed in plain clothes approached him speaking Spanish. Wright didn't understand much Spanish but ascertained that they wanted to see his passport.

Wright told his father that the men got rough, and he believed he was being mugged, so he resisted and yelled for help.

"He literally thought he was getting mugged, or kidnapped, and started fighting," Susan Wright said.

But the men turned out to be police officers, and as Susan Wright and her husband understand it, their son was arrested for fighting with the officers.

Susan Wright said she does not know why the officers approached her son and asked for his passport in the first place.

But she said the family thinks Brett Wright, a man of mixed race, was approached because police believed he looked Middle Eastern. Susan Wright said her son reported being told he was approached because he looked like a Muslim.

Spain ratcheted up security around public infrastructure spots such as bus stops, airports and train stations after January's deadly terrorist attack in France of the satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo. March 11 also marked the 11th year anniversary of the Madrid train explosions in which 10 bombs killed nearly 200 people.

"It could be a huge misunderstanding," Susan Wright said.

Friends and family are worried and say it would be out of character for Brett Wright to get into trouble or attract the attention of police.

"I was absolutely astonished when I heard this," said Josh Husmann, lead pastor at Carmel's Mercy Road Church, where the Wrights attend services.

The oldest of five, Brett Wright is active in ministry at the church, ran track in college and graduated from Drake with a 3.8 GPA, his friends and family say.

He has been employed at Carmel Clay Schools for about five months. He first was hired as a substitute teacher and later as a special education instructional assistant at Clay Middle School.

"Carmel Clay Schools is shocked to hear of Mr. Wright's detainment," the district said in a statement. "The district hopes this unfortunate incident can be resolved in a swift and just manner."

Rebecca Berry, a friend of Brett Wright's through the church, has started a GoFundMe page to raise money to help the family with legal and travel expenses as they navigate the situation. The page has so far raised almost $9,500.

"This could have been anybody's son or daughter," Berry, 27, said. "Everybody travels at some point. You think you're safe, especially in Europe."

Meanwhile, Susan Wright said she is hoping and praying her son will be released soon. They are hoping to settle the matter quickly, possibly with a plea and a fine.

She said Brett appears to be holding up well under the circumstances.

"It's way better now that we've found him," Wright said.

Call Star reporter Madeline Buckley at (317) 444-6083. Follow her on Twitter: @Mabuckley88.