17 STUDENTS ARRESTED IN SCHOOL STINGS

March 21, 2002 PORT ST. LUCIE -- He studied, did homework and took tests.

He struggled with algebra and prepared for the dreaded FCAT.

But the Port St. Lucie High School student who transferred to St. Lucie
West Centennial High School during Christmas break wasn't just another teen
juggling adolescence and academics.

He was an undercover St. Lucie County sheriff's deputy buying everything
from marijuana to ecstasy -- even a .38 caliber handgun.

The investigator's efforts paid off Wednesday as deputies arrested 17 of 20
students involved in the illegal activities he witnessed. Most of the
arrestees were juveniles.

"The charges very much mirror what crimes have been detected in the school
system over the years," St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara said. "We
didn't find anything new."

The new twist was assigning a deputy to pose as a student, a scenario that
presented a number of challenges, including registering the "student" and
having people pose as his "parents."

"He's effectively had to live two complete different lives for the last
five or six months, and that is tremendously burdensome," Chief Deputy
Garry Wilson said.

Sheriff's officials declined to reveal the name of the deputy, who entered
Port St. Lucie High as a transfer student before moving to St. Lucie West
Centennial. Neither would they arrange an interview.

Most of those arrested face marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy charges. One was
known for selling bags of marijuana in the men's room.

Mascara said investigators chose Port St. Lucie and St. Lucie West
Centennial high schools for the operation "out of a hat."

"This deputy had clear direction that he was to open himself up to anything
that was offered to him," Mascara said. "That was done on campus, and if
there was something that was to be brought off campus to on campus, his
direction was to make sure that it stayed off campus for the safety of
students."

In one case, the deputy, who did not carry a weapon, asked whether anyone
could get him a gun.

"Not only did the person bring a gun, but brought a gun with the serial
numbers filed off," Mascara said. "He made the deal at school, and it was
structured where it was delivered outside the school grounds."

Schools Superintendent Bill Vogel said the students will be subject to
discipline, including expulsion.

"I think it was unique in that it gave us an inside look at our schools
from a student's perspective," Vogel said. "We're always concerned about
drugs on our campuses, and the results were about as we expected."

He said Mascara approached him with the undercover operation months ago,
and they began preparing during the summer. Only five people knew of the
operation: Mascara, Wilson, Vogel, the deputy and the deputy's supervisor.

Mascara said five arrests were made at each school Wednesday morning, with
deputies trying to be as discreet as possible. The remaining arrests were
made off campus.

Three deputies went to each school, and a school administrator asked the
students to come out into the hall. They then were escorted to a conference
room before being taken to the St. Lucie County Jail for processing.

Port St. Lucie police spokesman Chuck Johnson said his agency has
considered placing an undercover officer in the high schools, but said
police don't have the resources.

"We just do not have the manpower in the narcotics section to do these
long-term, large investigations," he said. "The sheriff's office does, and
we applaud them for their efforts."

Wilson said no teachers or school employees were involved and that the
deputy was "very careful about the situations that he could have been drawn
into."

Mascara said it took time for the deputy to develop contacts and that at
first he was considered an "outsider."

"You have to understand how difficult this is for a law enforcement officer
posing as a high school student," Wilson said.

"Quite frankly, we were almost at the burnout stage of trying to maintain
this facade and, let's face it, high school was tough enough the first time
around, you have to go back again? I mean, that new math is terrible."

Despite the rigors, Mascara said he plans to conduct similar operations in
the future.

"Next week, next semester, next year a new kid sitting in the classroom
could be an undercover officer," he said.

According to the sheriff's office, crime in St. Lucie County schools rose 3
percent, from 371 crimes in the 1999-2000 school year to 383 in 2000-2001.

>From 1999-2000 to 2000-2001, assault and battery, burglary, theft,
vehicle theft and vandalism decreased, but sex offenses, drug, alcohol and
weapons crimes and disorderly conduct were on the rise.

The Palm Beach County School District, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
and West Palm Beach Police Department worked together to conduct a similar
operation at Santaluces, Wellington and Forest Hill high schools in Palm
Beach County in 1996.

That operation netted 16 students and two adults.

In addition, a similar program in Palm Beach County in 1990 led to the
arrests of 10 students.

This type of operation has landed law enforcement in legal trouble at least
once.

In March 2000, Orange County deputies posing as students at Seminole and
Oviedo high schools arrested 32 students and adults at the schools on drug
charges.

The action spurred about 24 lawsuits accusing deputies of entrapment and
contributing to the delinquency of a minor.