Undercover Officer Helps Bust 7

A.C. JONES HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGES

The new student at Beeville's A.C. Jones High School bought drugs his
first day of classes when he arrived in February.

He was a below-average student but passed most of his classes when
school ended in May. He also was a Bee County Sheriff's Department
officer working undercover.

The peace-officer-turned-student was recruited from outside the
department to infiltrate a ring of student drug dealers, said
sheriff's department Capt. Daniel Caddell. The officer did nothing
but attend school full time, with only three school administrators
knowing his true identity.

When the operation wrapped up in May, he had gathered enough
information to make numerous drug cases on seven teen males at the
school. Two of the teens are 16; the other five are 17 or 18. Their
names and the number of charges each is facing were not available
late Thursday.

Officers arrested five of the teens last week. Two others remain at
large; they live elsewhere during the summer and will not be pursued
until the fall, Caddell said.

Sheriff Carlos Carrizales hired the young-looking peace officer after
school officials approached his office with concerns about a mounting
drug problem, Caddell said.

"They didn't know how extensive the problem was, but the school felt
that they were seeing too many kids high in class," he said. "Before
it got out of hand they wanted to do something about it."

Carrizales declined to elaborate on the undercover officer's identity
or true age because he may be used in other assignments or areas.

The undercover officer's job was to act like a teenager looking for
drugs. He was enrolled as a senior and was responsible for schoolwork
even though scholastics wasn't a top priority.

"You have to understand he had to infiltrate the type of people who
don't make good grades," Caddell said. "Still, he passed most of his courses."

The sheriff's department only focused on students dealing drugs. It
found prescription medication the biggest problem, followed by
marijuana and small amounts of cocaine.

The officer typically focused on one suspect at a time, trying to
make three or four cases before moving on to another student drug dealer.

All of the cases filed are felonies, with the exception of one
misdemeanor theft charge. Caddell said one of the teens also stole a
synthetic human skull from a biology lab to use as a bong -- a water
pipe used to smoke marijuana.

Sending an officer back to high school as a student might not be
common locally, but many departments have used undercover officers
elsewhere in schools for years, Caddell said.

"How else are you going to get the dealers dealing on school grounds?" he said.