Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Sweet Home police took five juveniles into custody just outside Sweet Home High School on Sept. 29 for allegedly selling marijuana.
The arrests followed a seven-day operation conducted outside SHHS and the city skate park, which is located on school property, police said.
Arrested were Colt Aaron McDaniel, 17; Sabrina Marilyn Castaneda, 16; Linda Eveleene Kennedy, 15; Ashley May Olson, 17; and Collin Chambliss Davis, 17. All were charged with distribution of a controlled substance, a class B felony, and distribution of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school, a class A felony. A sixth person, Arric Munoz, was taken into custody and charged on Sept. 30. They were transported to Linn-Benton Detention Center. Munoz and McDaniel were each charged with one additional count each of DCS and DCS within 1,000 feet of a school.
Five were reportedly students, and one was not, District 55 Supt. Larry Horton said.
During the investigation, an undercover police officer frequented the two locations and purchased narcotics from juveniles, Police Chief Bob Burford said. Some were students at the high school, and others would merely show up at breaks and after school.
“The detectives running the investigation were somewhat surprised when the undercover officer was able to buy drugs within 10 to 15 minutes of approaching a group of juveniles on the first day of the operation,” Burford said.
One of the high school students appeared to be the source for the majority of the marijuana, and others would act as intermediaries in many of the transactions, Detective Jeff Lynn said. “At lunchtime, when this kid’s car would pull up across from the high school, it looked like the ice cream truck had just arrived. A group of about 15 to 20 students would just crowd up around the car and line up at the window.”
Detectives seized the vehicle, a red Mazda RX-7, as evidence.
“During one surveillance operation at the skate park, a group of younger kids were minding their own business and having fun using the new facilities,” Burford said. “A few feet away, another group of older juveniles were passing a marijuana pipe around were openly yelling back and forth across the park, talking about drugs.”
Police officers and detectives started arresting the suspects at about noon after lunch break had started, Burford said. Detetives and officers arrested McDaniels as he left the rear high school parking lot, stopping him in the parking lot of the Church of Christ.
As soon as McDaniels and his passenger, Olson, were in custody, officers took Davis and Castaneda into custody at the intersection of 15th Avenue and Long Street.
Police recovered prepackaged sale quantities of marijuana from the RX-7 during the operation, Burford said. From McDaniels, they also recovered marked cash used to purchase narcotics from other players.
Following the arrests, School District 55 initiated a search of the high school using a U.S. Forest Service dog, Burford said. The search was meant to be brief and cover a few classrooms as selected by the district.
“It was meant to be a signal that future searches with the dog will occur,” Burford said. The dog did alert on several backpacks, but no narcotics were located during the search.
“It wasn’t in the backpacks in the classrooms,” Horton said. “Which I felt positive about.”
School officials found a marker with no cap and a bottle of perfume that had spilled inside a pack, Horton said. They also located cigarrettes in two places.
The search was separate from the police operation, Burford said. The district has been in communication with police and requested a drug dog search. In turn, Sweet Home Police Department made arrangements with the Forest Service to do the search.
“We want to ensure that our children are attending schools that are safe and drug free,” Horton said. Administration had heard rumors from students and parents that drugs were located at or near the school, and the search was an attempt to determine the severity of the problem.
“I really appreciate the cooperation of the police,” Horton said. “They did a very professional job on Thursday.”