mistanice
04-17-2010, 02:26 PM
WEST COLUMBIA — In a scene reminiscent of the old TV show 21 Jump Street, police on Friday arrested 16 students accused of delivering drugs on Brazoria County's Columbia High School campus after an undercover officer posing as a student named “Victor” allegedly bought the goods from them.
The raid, which took place around 9:30 a.m. during fourth-period classes, took everyone by surprise but was conducted efficiently and quietly with the students being called out of their classrooms and to the office, where they were arrested, school officials said.
The students were charged with felony offenses alleging they delivered drugs in a drug-free zone. Another student who has moved out of Brazoria County will be arrested later, said Sheriff Charles Wagner.
The drugs, bought by a Columbia-Brazoria Indepen_dent School District under_cover officer during his three-month stint on campus, included *********, cocaine, hydrocodone, Xanax and other prescription drugs, Wagner said.
School district police “had developed information they had a problem over there and decided to do something about it,” Wagner said.
Those arrested ranged from freshmen to seniors, spanning ages from 16 to 19, and included two girls. Five are legally considered adults.
“The school district should be commended for it,” Brazoria County Sheriff's Office Narcotics Lt. Chris Reioux said of the operation. “They brought in the undercover officer and asked for our assistance.”
Friday's raid caused a stir at the school on Texas 36 in West Columbia, where about 860 students are enrolled. Those arrested were suspended from campus for three days. They could face mandatory expulsion, according to the school's code of conduct, said Assistant Superintendent Steven Galloway.
Students said they were shocked by the arrests and supported the police's actions, but at the same time said it gives their school a black eye.
Freshman Cassie Dittrich said she has seen drugs being sold on the school campus regularly. “They sell them all the time. They do it right in front of you ... in the bathroom, in the cafeteria ... but nobody wants to tell on them,” she said.
“I think it puts us in a bad light,” she said of the bust, noting that most all of the students there are good kids. “It's a little embarrassing, especially when you know half these people and you go on the Internet and see your friends chained in handcuffs.”
Students began suspecting “Victor” was the undercover officer as soon as Friday's drug bust began, said seniors Justin Newell and Tyler Davis. But up until then, no one had suspected he was not a student.
“No one had no clue — no one at all,” Davis said.
The undercover officer enrolled as a student at the school in January after Christmas break and attended classes, carried books, had a locker and took tests. He remained there until April 9, when the operation ended.
The officer's assignment brought to mind the plot of the Fox TV show 21 Jump Street, which centered on young cops working undercover in schools to catch illicit activity.
Each day after school let out, “Victor” reported to the sheriff's office narcotics division. “People here didn't know who he was and would ask, ‘Who is that kid?'” Reioux said.
The five suspects legally considered to be adults are Michael Lee Sproles, 17, Brandon Scott Lillian, 19, and Carlos Armando Figueroa, 17, all of West Columbia; Claudio Cantu, 18, of Sweeny; and Baleigh Gail Williams, 18, of Brazoria.
Sproles is charged with delivery of or offering to deliver a dangerous drug, a sedative known as promethazine, in a drug-free zone, and Lillian is charged with delivery of a simulated controlled substance, specifically fake cocaine, in a drug-free zone.
Cantu is charged with delivery of ********* in a drug-free zone, and Figueroa and Williams are each charged with delivery of a controlled substance in a drug-free zone. Figueroa is accused of delivering hydrocodone, and Williams is accused of delivering Xanax, Reioux said.
All five went before a judge Friday. Lillian's bail was set at $10,000, likely because he has a prior criminal history; Williams' bail was set at $7,500. The other three adults saw their bail set at $5,000 each.
The juveniles were taken to the Brazoria County Juvenile Detention Center and were expected to see a judge Friday, who will decide if they will be kept in custody or released.
“What we're doing is eliminating the activity,” said Superintendent Carol Bertholf. “There's not a high school in the nation that doesn't have an issue with drugs. We work hard to do what we can to eradicate it and to help students understand that's not an activity they should engage in.
“The opportunity was there.”
Chronicle reporter Dale Lezon contributed to this report. Link (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6962267.html)
The raid, which took place around 9:30 a.m. during fourth-period classes, took everyone by surprise but was conducted efficiently and quietly with the students being called out of their classrooms and to the office, where they were arrested, school officials said.
The students were charged with felony offenses alleging they delivered drugs in a drug-free zone. Another student who has moved out of Brazoria County will be arrested later, said Sheriff Charles Wagner.
The drugs, bought by a Columbia-Brazoria Indepen_dent School District under_cover officer during his three-month stint on campus, included *********, cocaine, hydrocodone, Xanax and other prescription drugs, Wagner said.
School district police “had developed information they had a problem over there and decided to do something about it,” Wagner said.
Those arrested ranged from freshmen to seniors, spanning ages from 16 to 19, and included two girls. Five are legally considered adults.
“The school district should be commended for it,” Brazoria County Sheriff's Office Narcotics Lt. Chris Reioux said of the operation. “They brought in the undercover officer and asked for our assistance.”
Friday's raid caused a stir at the school on Texas 36 in West Columbia, where about 860 students are enrolled. Those arrested were suspended from campus for three days. They could face mandatory expulsion, according to the school's code of conduct, said Assistant Superintendent Steven Galloway.
Students said they were shocked by the arrests and supported the police's actions, but at the same time said it gives their school a black eye.
Freshman Cassie Dittrich said she has seen drugs being sold on the school campus regularly. “They sell them all the time. They do it right in front of you ... in the bathroom, in the cafeteria ... but nobody wants to tell on them,” she said.
“I think it puts us in a bad light,” she said of the bust, noting that most all of the students there are good kids. “It's a little embarrassing, especially when you know half these people and you go on the Internet and see your friends chained in handcuffs.”
Students began suspecting “Victor” was the undercover officer as soon as Friday's drug bust began, said seniors Justin Newell and Tyler Davis. But up until then, no one had suspected he was not a student.
“No one had no clue — no one at all,” Davis said.
The undercover officer enrolled as a student at the school in January after Christmas break and attended classes, carried books, had a locker and took tests. He remained there until April 9, when the operation ended.
The officer's assignment brought to mind the plot of the Fox TV show 21 Jump Street, which centered on young cops working undercover in schools to catch illicit activity.
Each day after school let out, “Victor” reported to the sheriff's office narcotics division. “People here didn't know who he was and would ask, ‘Who is that kid?'” Reioux said.
The five suspects legally considered to be adults are Michael Lee Sproles, 17, Brandon Scott Lillian, 19, and Carlos Armando Figueroa, 17, all of West Columbia; Claudio Cantu, 18, of Sweeny; and Baleigh Gail Williams, 18, of Brazoria.
Sproles is charged with delivery of or offering to deliver a dangerous drug, a sedative known as promethazine, in a drug-free zone, and Lillian is charged with delivery of a simulated controlled substance, specifically fake cocaine, in a drug-free zone.
Cantu is charged with delivery of ********* in a drug-free zone, and Figueroa and Williams are each charged with delivery of a controlled substance in a drug-free zone. Figueroa is accused of delivering hydrocodone, and Williams is accused of delivering Xanax, Reioux said.
All five went before a judge Friday. Lillian's bail was set at $10,000, likely because he has a prior criminal history; Williams' bail was set at $7,500. The other three adults saw their bail set at $5,000 each.
The juveniles were taken to the Brazoria County Juvenile Detention Center and were expected to see a judge Friday, who will decide if they will be kept in custody or released.
“What we're doing is eliminating the activity,” said Superintendent Carol Bertholf. “There's not a high school in the nation that doesn't have an issue with drugs. We work hard to do what we can to eradicate it and to help students understand that's not an activity they should engage in.
“The opportunity was there.”
Chronicle reporter Dale Lezon contributed to this report. Link (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6962267.html)