TEACHER IN 'ICE' BUST NEVER HAD A DRUG TEST

A Leilehua High School teacher accused of selling crystal
methamphetamine allegedly set up drug deals while at school.

[Name redacted] , 29, a special education teacher who lives in
Mililani, is believed to be the first Hawai'i public school teacher
prosecuted on charges of selling "ice." He also allegedly admitted
to an undercover officer that he smoked ice.

A Department of Education spokesman yesterday said that under DOE
policy, [Name redacted] was not required to undergo drug testing
before being hired and there were no drug tests during his six years
at the school. DOE policy does not require regular drug testing for
employees except in special cases, the spokesman said.

[Name redacted] was arrested late Thursday night and charged
with selling about 15 ounces of crystal methamphetamine to an
undercover officer for $44,500.

The criminal complaint and affidavit filed in support of the charge
against [Name redacted] contain allegations he not only sold ice,
but had been an ice user for seven to eight years -- dating to 1998
or 1999, when he attended Hawai'i Pacific University and played on
its baseball team.

"I gotta smoke," [Name redacted] is quoted as telling an undercover
deputy sheriff in the affidavit filed in support of the charge.

PALI LONGS PARKING LOT

[Name redacted] is a former baseball player at Kaiser High
School who was an honorable-mention selection on the state all-star
team. He was recruited out of high school in 1995 to play for HPU.

He was arrested at the Longs Drug Store on Pali Highway about 11:55
p.m. and charged with selling ice to the officer on five different
occasions in various parking lots -- away from the Central O'ahu
school -- over a span of about a month.

But U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said that for some of the sales, [Name
redacted] used a cell phone to set up deals while he was in his
classroom or on campus. Kubo added there were no indications [Name
redacted] sold drugs to any students.

Authorities obtained a federal search warrant in the pre-dawn hours
yesterday and searched [Name redacted] classroom before the start of
the school day at Leilehua High to minimize the disruption to classes.

Federal prosecutors said that after [Name redacted] was
arrested, authorities found him in possession of a
glass methamphetamine smoking pipe. A torch lighter, a gram scale
and several plastic bags with residue that appeared to be consistent
with ice were found in his car. A search of [Name redacted] home
turned up a broken glass methamphetamine pipe, a scale,
several marijuana "bong" pipes and a small amount of
marijuana, according to federal prosecutors.

'VIOLATED PUBLIC TRUST'

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Kawahara said nothing was recovered
from the classroom, but said [Name redacted] was a "significant"
dealer who had access to nearly a pound of ice that was sold to the
undercover officer.

"As a teacher, Mr. [Name redacted] holds a position of trust," Kubo
told reporters at a news conference yesterday. By selling ice
without any concern for the community, "Mr. [Name redacted] has
violated the public trust."

The five charges that [Name redacted] faces carry sentences with a
minimum of five years and up to life in prison without parole.

Kubo said if convicted, [Name redacted] may face a stiffer sentence
because of his position of public trust and also because negotiating
the deals on campus will "weigh heavily" on the sentencing judge.

[Name redacted] appeared in court yesterday afternoon,
sometimes shaking his head and covering his face with his hands.

"Just be strong, babe," his wife, [Name redacted] , told him
from the gallery as he waited for the court to be convened.

"I love you," the wife said. "What's done is done, yeah?"

The Leilehua High School Web site lists both [Name redacted]
and [Name redacted] as special education teachers.

After yesterday's court hearing, [Name redacted] lawyer,
Howard Luke, said it would be premature to respond to the charges.
He said he will seek his client's release at a hearing tomorrow on
the federal prosecutors' request to hold him without bail while his
case is pending.

"He's very distraught," Luke said.

Luke said his client does not have a criminal record and has the
support of his friends and family. Other relatives in the courtroom
also expressed support for [Name redacted] after the end of the
hearing before he was escorted from the courtroom, but the relatives
declined to comment as they left the courthouse.

"He's otherwise a very decent young man and I think we'll be able to
communicate that to the court this Friday," Luke said.

[Name redacted] is charged with five counts of selling ice to
a deputy sheriff posing undercover as a drug purchaser in amounts
ranging from an ounce to 5 ounces.

The sales were conducted at the parking lots of the Kamehameha
Shopping Center in Kalihi, the Foodland at Waipi'o Gentry, the Russ
K. Makaha Quiksilver Boardriders Club on Kapi'olani Boulevard and
the Pali Longs Drug Store, federal prosecutors said.

The undercover agent paid [Name redacted] $44,500 for the
ice, according to prosecutors.

Kubo as well as other federal prosecutors, police and Department of
Education spokesman Greg Knudsen said they were not aware of any
other ice prosecution against a public school teacher. The public
schools currently have about 13,000 teachers.

NO CRIMINAL RECORD

[Name redacted] was subjected to a criminal background check prior
to employment, Knudsen said. The check showed [Name redacted] had no
criminal record when he became a special education teacher, Knudsen said.

Because DOE policy does not require it, he was not given a
pre-employment drug screen.

"Under some circumstance we can request an employee seek medical
evaluation and drug testing if we have cause to suspect that a
person's job performance might be affected by the use of illegal
substances," Knudsen said.

There was no evidence that [Name redacted] performance had
been affected, Knudsen said. He declined to say whether [Name
redacted] had ever been asked to take a drug test.

"I understand that he related well to the students and at one point
was probably a very excellent teacher," he said.

[Name redacted] has been placed on administrative leave.

Teachers and employees in the DOE do not need to undergo any regular
routine drug testing, except for some special employees, such as bus
drivers, who fall under the regulations of the Public Utilities
Commission. Individual employees could be asked to take a test if
there is reason to suspect the use of drugs is affecting job performance.

"People can be hired and disciplined based on nonperformance in a
number of forms. Whether or not they are not performing based on the
effects of some drug or lack of preparation or poor attitude -- all
those things don't necessarily require drug testing," he said.

He also dismissed questions about whether a mandatory drug-testing
policy should be implemented.

"I don't believe it is justified at this point. We are talking about
one individual among 13,000 teachers and presumably, if you follow
that logic, it should apply to all DOE employers. So we're taking
20,000 to 30,000 individuals and it's not fair to cast all of them
under some cloud of suspicion based on this one case," he said.

The Hawai'i State Teachers Association could not be reached for
comment yesterday.

COACHES ARE CHECKED

Last week, following the state auditor's finding that Kailua High
School had failed to appropriately clear a number of coaches who had
criminal records during the past three years -- including one who
had been convicted of murder -- the DOE said it would verify that
all public school athletic coaches statewide have had background checks.

The DOE continues to do those checks, and Knudsen said the DOE
continues to examine the accuracy of the Kailua audit.

The prosecution's case against [Name redacted] was outlined in
a detailed 29-page affidavit by a federal Drug Enforcement
Administration agent.

RECORDED PHONE CALLS

According to the affidavit, a confidential informant who owed [Name
redacted] a $3,000 drug debt provided the DEA with information. The
informant later introduced [Name redacted] to the undercover
officer, a deputy sheriff who used the nickname "Duke."

The affidavit quoted extensively from what it said were recorded
cell phone conversations detailing negotiations.

In one cell phone conversation, [Name redacted] asked the undercover
deputy if he was a "cop," according to the affidavit. The deputy
denied it, then asked [Name redacted] i if he was really a teacher
of if he was actually a cop.

[Name redacted] is accused of selling ice to the undercover deputy
two more times after that conversation.

[Name redacted] lives at Apele Place in a quiet cul-de-sac
of single-family homes and duplexes in Mililani.

RECENTLY HAD A BABY

Neighbors were shocked yesterday to hear of his arrest. They said
[Name redacted] and his wife were a pleasant couple who had recently
had a baby.

"He seems like a good guy. He seems like a family man," said Jon
Ferrell, who lives two doors down from [Name redacted] . "I never
saw anything weird there."

In addition to teaching special education, [Name redacted]
has served in various athletic coaching capacities since 2000, DOE
spokesman Knudsen said.

[Name redacted] former baseball coach at HPU, Allan Sato, said he
was "very shocked" by the allegations.

"Academically, he proved a lot of people wrong. I don't have
anything negative to say about him," Sato said. "As far as drugs, I
am shocked. Wow. I'm shocked."

[Name redacted] was senior captain of the HPU baseball team in 1999.

"He was a team guy; he always wanted what was best for the team," Sato said.

He said [Name redacted] was generally well-liked by team members and
was popular among the general student body at HPU.

"He was no bully. He was not being Mother Teresa, either. But he was
the kind of guy that tried to lead the team in the right direction,"
Sato said.

$3,000 AN OUNCE: 'THE STUFF IS DEADLY... YEAH, I TRIED' EM'

Here are excerpts from a criminal complaint and supporting affidavit
filed by a federal Drug Enforcement Administration agent in the case
against [Name redacted] .

[Name redacted] , a special education teacher at Leilehua High
School, was arrested Tuesday night and later charged with selling
about 15 ounces of crystal methamphetamine to an undercover state
deputy sheriff on five occasions.

[Name redacted] allegedly first sold methamphetamine to an undercover
deputy sheriff on Sept. 8. The sale was for 5 grams. He allegedly
sold to the same deputy sheriff four other times: Sept. 14, 19, 29 and Oct. 10.

He was arrested at 11:55 p.m. Tuesday night after allegedly selling
$12,500 worth of ice to the undercover officer. A methamphetamine
pipe was found in his possession and assorted drug paraphernalia and
cash was found in his vehicle, the complaint said.

At 12:35 p.m. Sept. 19, [Name redacted] took a phone call from the
undercover officer, later referred to as UC, to allegedly set up a drug deal.

[Name redacted] indicated he was on lunch break at Leilehua High
School, and that "the bell going to ring in about 5 minutes."

The undercover officer joked that "make sure you're not late (for)
the bell, uh?" and [Name redacted] said, "No, no, no, I stay in my
room; it's all good." UC asked, "You get your own classroom?" and
[Name redacted] said, "Yeah."

In the same conversation, [Name redacted] also allegedly indicated he
had 5 ounces in hand and could proceed directly to a meeting site to
complete the drug transaction.

On Sept. 20 at about 4:12 p.m., UC received a call from [Name
redacted] . Here is a transcript, from the complaint, of part of that
conversation:

[Name redacted] : Just wanted fo' ask you one question. My friend
told me, you not one cop, eh?

UC: Crazy bull, what make you think that, brah? What's up with that, man?

[Name redacted] : No, I tell you right now, my friend, I just talk to
my friend, he said if we ask person that, they cannot lie.

UC: (expletive) beats me, brah

[Name redacted] : Huh?

UC: (expletive), beats me, I don't know if that true or not.

[Name redacted] : No, that's what he said. They can't use it in
court, that's why.

Later, in the same conversation, the officer asks [Name redacted] if
he is who says he is.

UC: Maybe you not one school teacher.

[Name redacted] : (Expletive) you, I show you my badge, cuz. I show
you my badge, my (expletive) DOE, my DOE (expletive) badge, brah.

At 10:26 p.m. Sept. 26, [Name redacted] allegedly telephoned UC and
told him about his own drug habit:

[Name redacted] : You no smoke, uh?

UC: No, no, no, I no smoke. It's all about the business, it's all
about the business.

[Name redacted] : See, that's the smartest person, you know what I mean?

UC: Yeah.

[Name redacted] : No, seriously.

UC: Yeah, that's what I hear.

[Name redacted] : 'Cause that's what, ah, I cannot do. I gotta smoke.

UC: Oh, yeah.

UC: Yeah, but what about fo', da kine, for you, your, um, work?
([Name redacted] job as a teacher).

[Name redacted] : What about 'em?

UC: They no check?

[Name redacted] : Not yet. I keep it all good, I hope.

[Name redacted] : (expletive), I been getting away with, uh, I been
getting away with the drinking Clorox, cuz, how many years already.

UC: Fo' real, brah? You drink that?

[Name redacted] : That's what I been doing.

[Name redacted] : You don't drink it.

UC: What you do then? You just what?

[Name redacted] : You put some (Clorox) on your fingah .... ([Name
redacted] goes on to explain the next steps in detail).

UC: It's all good to go.

[Name redacted] : All my four years in college.

Excerpts from a Sept. 28 phone conversation, in which [Name redacted]
allegedly talks about the quality of methampheta-mine he's going to
sell to the undercover officer for $3,000 an ounce.

[Name redacted] : The stuff is deadly.

UC: The stuff is what?

[Name redacted] : Deadly.

UC: The stuff is deadly? OK, I'll take your word for it.

[Name redacted] : I tried 'em.

UC: You tried 'em?

[Name redacted] : Yeah, I tried 'em.

Source: Criminal complaint, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai'i

Advertiser staff writers Loren Moreno and Mary Vorsino contributed
to this report.