STATE SENATE TO HONOR DEPUTY

Quick Thinking In Dexter Bust Led To 1st Drug-free School Zone Case

After Washtenaw County Sheriff's deputies made a drug bust in Dexter
earlier this year, Deputy Mike Babycz noticed that the suspect's house was
near the high school and two elementary schools.

He asked the Washtenaw County Road Commission to measure the distance from
the front door to the schools; the house fell within 1,000 feet of school
property and led to the first statewide case prosecuted under the 1999
drug-free school zones law.

Babycz will be honored Wednesday by the Michigan Senate for his effort.

The suspected drug dealer, 31-year-old Govit Maxwell, was found guilty in
late September of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, but the
jury could not agree on a cocaine delivery charge. That portion of the case
is expected to be retried. The drug-free school zone violation applies to
the cocaine charge, but not marijuana.

The case came to light Feb. 8 when an anonymous caller told sheriff's
deputies that a resident in the Walkabout Creek subdivision was selling
drugs out of his home to Dexter High School students. Police entered the
man's home the next month with a search warrant and found marijuana, crack
cocaine, scales and packaging materials, Babycz said.

"I'm somewhat surprised this was occurring in Dexter, because you expect to
see it in a somewhat more urban setting," said Babycz, a sheriff's deputy
for two years. "I had no idea that this was the first case charged under
the new law. I think it's a good tool because is sends a strong message to
people who are considering selling drugs near a school."

The law, effective Nov. 24, 1999, doubles the penalty for the drug charge.
Maxwell's home fell within 1,000 feet of Dexter High School and Cornerstone
and Bates elementaries.

"I think the law is a very healthy deterrent for people dealing drugs from
cars or in homes," Dexter Schools Superintendent Bill Spargur said. "I
think the fact that the sheriff's department enforced the law there was
wonderful."

Babycz now works in the Ypsilanti Township substation of the sheriff's
department. He is a former paramedic with Huron Valley Ambulance and serves
as a paramedic for the department's SWAT team.