SCHOOL DRUG INVESTIGATION NETS 23 ARRESTS IN PLANO

14 students accused; more charges expected

PLANO - A seven-month undercover drug investigation in Plano's two senior
high schools resulted Monday in the arrests of almost two dozen people,
including 14 students.

Police said the investigation was conducted to identify narcotics problems
in the schools and target individuals trafficking illegal narcotics on and
off campus.

Undercover officers investigated cases involving heroin, cocaine, LSD,
prescription drugs and marijuana. Twenty-three people had been arrested as
of Monday evening; more arrests were expected.

"They are dealing at the street level," Plano Police Chief Bruce Glasscock
said at a news conference Monday afternoon.

Officials said the undercover operation is not the first of its kind in the
Plano schools. But the last one was in the mid-1980s. Plano has been in the
spotlight recently because at least a dozen young people with ties to the
city have died of heroin overdoses since 1996.

The undercover investigation, called Rockfest, began last summer as part of
a cooperative effort between the Police Department and the Plano school
district.

"We believe the success of Rockfest will have a lasting impact on the sale
and use of illegal narcotics in Plano," Chief Glasscock said.

Monday morning, Plano police officers, assisted by the Texas Department of
Public Safety's narcotics unit, arrested suspects at Plano Senior High
School, Plano East Senior High School, the district's Special Programs
Center and other locations in the city.

Charges against the individuals included felony counts of delivery of
specific illegal drugs with bail amounts ranging from $1,000 to $40,000.

Officials said the investigation confirmed that the most common way
students are introduced to drugs is at off-campus social events such as
parties.

The availability of drugs on school campuses was extremely limited, in part
because the school district has police liaison officers on campuses and
uses dogs to randomly search for narcotics, Chief Glasscock said.

The amounts of drugs seized during the arrests were not large, Chief
Glasscock said.

"Any drugs is too much," Superintendent Doug Otto said.

Dr. Otto said that the 14 students arrested Monday were called out of their
classes and that some students saw police leading them away.

He said he hoped the arrests will send the message to other students that
the district will take the necessary steps to ensure that the schools are
drug-free and safe.

"There are consequences that you can end up paying," Chief Glasscock said.

He said one of the most important things that the police saw during the
investigation was a lack of parental involvement in some families.

"Know where your kids are," he said.

Officials said the undercover investigation that began last summer has
resulted in charges against 33 adults 17 and older and four juveniles. A
Collin County grand jury indicted 26 of the adults last week, with arrest
warrants obtained for the remaining seven adult suspects.

Collin County District Attorney Tom O'Connell said the charges are state
felonies, but their punishments and fines will vary depending on the drug
and the amount seized. Punishment can range from five to 99 years or life
in prison plus a $10,000 fine for a first-degree felony to two to 10 years
in prison and a $5,000 fine for a third-degree felony.

On Friday, Martin Aguirre, 32, was charged with two counts of delivery of a
controlled substance, while Sylvia Gomez-Vasque, 17, was charged with two
counts of delivery of a controlled substance.

Those arrested Monday were James Amster, 17, charged with two counts of
delivery of a controlled substance; Tomas Cruz, 29, charged with delivery
of a controlled substance; Kurt Gross, 17, charged with delivery of a
controlled substance; Mindi Gullickson, 18, charged with delivery of a
controlled substance; Jonathan Kollman, 17, charged with two counts of
delivery of a controlled substance; Peyton Lynn, 17, charged with delivery
of a controlled substance; Dustin Martinez, 18, charged with delivery of a
controlled substance.

Also arrested Monday were Santiago Mejia, 18, charged with delivery of a
controlled substance; Adam Noe, 17, charged with delivery of a controlled
substance; Harold Price, 27, charged with delivery of a controlled
substance; Natalie Price, 19, charged with three counts of delivery of a
controlled substance; John Pruett, 19, charged with delivery of a
controlled substance; Miles Ryan, 17, charged with delivery of a controlled
substance; Jessica Singer, 18, charged with delivery of a controlled
substance; Craig Turner, 17, charged with five counts of delivery of a
controlled substance; and Ian Ybarbo, 17, charged with delivery of a
controlled substance.

The charges for five others arrested Monday - Jason Hewett, 19; Brandon
King, 22; and Saharmaz Parsa, 17, and two 16-year-olds - were not
available.

Plano residents affected by the city's heroin problem applauded the arrests.

"The kids . . . obviously haven't learned enough by hearing or reading
about all these heroin deaths," said Carol Lausch, whose church offered a
drug-awareness program last fall after a teenage boy overdosed. He survived
but remains in a coma.

"Maybe now that some of the kids have actually seen people they know
arrested for dealing drugs, they'll take it more seriously," Mrs. Lausch
said.

Linda Sharp, whose 17-year-old daughter, Mary Catherine, died in April of a
heroin overdose, called the arrests a step in the right direction.

But she added, "I'm fearful parents will think that now it's all taken care
of, that it can go back to business as usual. . . . But for every dealer
they arrest, there'll be two more ready to take their place. We can't let
our guard down."

Chris Fischer, 18, a senior at Plano Senior High, also praised the drug
sweep but said teens who are already deeply into drugs probably won't be
affected.

"A lot of teenagers have this invincibility complex, and when people are
doing drugs, it's even worse," Mr. Fischer said. "The person right next to
them could be arrested for drugs, or someone they know overdoses, but they
still won't get it."

The high visibility of the arrests, though, may get the attention of those
just starting to experiment with drugs, he said.

"A lot of kids out here are completely beyond what real life is about," he
said. "They're used to being able to mess up and not suffer the
consequences like other people do.

"This might be a nice little jolt of reality. There's not a lot your
parents can do to get you out of trouble if you're dealing drugs."

Staff writer Joy Dickinson contributed to this report.