PRINCIPAL WON'T BE CHARGED OVER DRUG STING WITH STUDENT

Prosecutors said no criminal charges are to be filed against the Pittman
Middle School administrator who ordered a 14-year-old to buy marijuana in a
drug sting conducted without police knowledge.

Assistant Principal Greg Gober, however, could face a formal letter of
reprimand for involving the teen, school officials said.

Jim Smith, father of the boy, said his son was asked twice to buy drugs and
was told by Gober he would be acting as "undercover safety patrol."

The second attempt, on Sept. 19, not only netted a marijuana sale, but
revealed his son's role to the suspect, the retired ironworker said.

Smith, who asked his son's name not to be used, said he is disappointed the
school system seems prepared to pursue only a reprimand.

He said he withdrew his son from Pittman to protect his safety and now pays
$425 a month for him to attend private school.

Smith said he told Gober to leave his child alone after learning of the
first sting operation and filed a police report on the incident after his
son suffered harassment and physical threats.

"Someone from the superintendent's office should have at least talked to
the victims of this stupidity, so they would have access to all the facts
in their decision making," Smith said. "They have no idea how this
encounter has devastated our family."

Police and school officials learned of the Sept. 19 sting after Gober
alerted Hueytown officers he had caught a drug dealer.

Alabama law requires court approval for a minor to participate in an
undercover operation such as Gober's. The assistant principal had none.

Bill Veitch, chief assistant district attorney in Bessemer, said filing
charges against Gober seemed inappropriate, however, since no criminal
intent had been found in his actions.

Jefferson County interim school superintendent Roger Tomberlin said
administrators have sternly told Gober and principal Joseph Redcross the
sting had been inappropriate and should not be repeated.

The school board requires administrators to notify the police or sheriff if
they suspect illegal activity. Gober called authorities only after the drug
buy he orchestrated purportedly occurred, authorities said. The suspect has
denied selling the marijuana.

Tomberlin said he will meet with Gober to review the facts of the case. At
a minimum, he said, the 42-year-old educator faces a formal letter of
reprimand.

Gober, who has worked at Pittman for more than year and with the school
system since 2000, said he would never do something a parent told him not
to do and that Smith had not talked to him.

He declined further comment.

Smith said he felt the matter was being swept under the rug.

"To put someone's child in peril should be unforgivable," Smith said. "If
that was your child, what would you want to happen?