Cedar Heights students arrested in drug ring

At least six Cedar Heights Junior High School students have been arrested so far in a drug-selling ring that included narcotic painkillers, a loaded gun — and aspirin.

Port Orchard Police School Resource Officer Dean Moe said he responded to CHJH last week after officials there discovered possible drug use by students. According to Moe, two students were observed “behaving erratically” on Wednesday afternoon and believed to be under the influence of drugs. Both students were taken to the hospital, and at least one was determined to have taken narcotic painkillers.

On Thursday, Moe said he began interviewing suspects, including a 13-year-old female student who was allegedly selling pills. When she was taken in for questioning, she reportedly had both pills and cash on her person.

Later, two boys — a 13-year-old and 14-year-old — were also questioned as possible drug sellers. Officers found them carrying various prescription pills as well, along with small yellow pills they were selling as Ecstasy.

Moe said several of the pills were identified as narcotics, and the yellow pills were later recognized as Costco-brand aspirin pills.

He said even though the aspirin pills were not illegal substances, it is illegal to sell them as such.

All three students were arrested for possession of drugs and both conspiracy and intent to sell, then booked into Kitsap County Juvenile Detention Center.

Also on Thursday, Moe said he questioned a fourth student — a 14-year-old male — who was identified as buying some of the pills.

While searching the boy’s backpack, Moe said he discovered a loaded, .380 caliber handgun.

The student admitted he had stolen it from a relative’s house the night before, but said he had not taken it to school for any other reason than because he had “nowhere else to keep it.”

“He said it wasn’t an act of revenge or because he had a beef with anyone at school,” Moe said, explaining that he then arrested the student for possession of a firearm.

On Friday, Moe said he arrested two more students for distributing drugs at school, and that more arrests were pending.

He said that so far in his investigation it did not appear that any other schools were involved.

On Friday, Cedar Heights Principal Bruce Dearborn sent a letter home to parents informing them of the incident.

“We believe that this incident started on Tuesday ... when one student removed the prescription medication from home and started soliciting ‘customers’ at school,” Dearborn wrote. “The best we can tell is that approximately 25 to 40 pills were distributed; we have recovered a majority of them.”

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