Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Police arrest five at high school for selling drugs to undercover agent

County pursues sixth student, who fled when police arrived

Additional arrests may follow

By Jeff Kearns

Los Gatos police arrived at Los Gatos High School just after the start of morning classes Dec. 18 with arrest warrants for six students wanted for selling drugs to an undercover agent. A team of officers pulled five students from classrooms and placed them under arrest, but a sixth student who fled his classroom as police arrived at the school is still being sought.

The arrests come at the end of a three-month investigation which began when an undercover officer from the Santa Clara County Specialized Enforcement Team (SCCSET) enrolled in the school at the start of the academic year. Police decided to keep investigating the school because of continuing concerns about drug sales and use, despite an already extensive anti-drug effort. School officials have also been using a drug-sniffing dog in recent weeks.

The undercover agent was working under the supervision of the state Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, which works to control drug sales, gang activity and violent crime.

All of the arrests were for narcotics sales, including marijuana, LSD and Ritalin. Police also found one student in possession of cocaine packaged for sale.

The student who fled, Jesse Brown, 18, is still being pursued by the SCCSET for selling pot and mushrooms, and one count of possessing illegal weapons. Police say Brown sold drugs at LGHS and at his home in an unincorporated area of the Santa Cruz Mountains, where a search warrant turned up a short-barrel 12-gauge shotgun, homemade mace, bomb-making materials and a large amount of drug paraphernalia. Police are seeking additional arrest warrants for Brown's brother, Justis Brown, 20, and his mother, Judy Brown, 45, both on drug charges.

Also taken into custody last week was Christopher Germany-Howe, 18, who was arrested Dec. 11 for armed robbery, released on bail and arrested again Dec. 17 for selling LSD (see related story).

"All indications from our undercover officer are that it was very, very difficult for that agent to buy drugs," Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Chief Larry Todd said. Police also concluded that students who do use drugs generally don't do so at school.

LGHS was also the subject of an intensive investigation in 1994, which resulted in the arrest of 23 students and five adults. Police say the recent operation won't be the last time an undercover officer is used at the school.

School officials, with the exception of one administrator, are kept in the dark about undercover agents at the school in order to ensure that the time and money invested in undercover operations, as well as the agent's safety, are not put in jeopardy by loose lips.

"We didn't know about this until the morning it happened," Principal Ted Simonson said. "It's encouraging news to hear that it's more difficult to buy drugs on campus--that the stuff isn't all over the place. We want our school to be a place where kids aren't being constantly exposed to drugs, and to send the message that this is a drug-free zone."

Simonson said that under the educational code, he has no choice in the matter except to expel the students if they are found guilty.

According to Simonson, dealing with parents can be one of the most frustrating parts of the effort to keep kids off drugs. "Almost every time we try to tell parents that we think their child is involved in drugs, the reaction is extremely negative. Parents say, 'You better have some proof,' " he said.

School administrators have also been conducting an anti-drug program of their own, independent of the police department.

The school contracted with the Interquest Group Inc. late this summer for a drug-sniffing dog to conduct random searches on campus. The dogs, mostly golden and Labrador retrievers, are trained to search cars, lockers, gyms and common areas such as classrooms. The dogs can detect a variety of illegal drugs, gunpowder, tobacco, alcohol and even prescription drugs.

Two separate "sniff" searches conducted Nov. 21 and Dec. 8 turned up three bottles of beer, a nearly empty fifth of vodka and drug paraphernalia, including a marijuana pipe buried behind a maintenance shed.

The dog has not yet "sniffed" classrooms. When it's time for that to happen, everyone in the room will be asked to leave their belongings behind and step out into the hallway until the search is done.

Cynthia Ranii, Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District superintendent, said the dogs may only sniff the air around books and bags in the classroom, and no sniffing of any person is allowed.

The Interquest Group ran into a problem earlier this year during one of its classroom searches at a different school. Two students and a teacher at Galt High School in Galt, Calif., sued after a similar search.

In that case, one of the students refused to leave his belongings behind; school officials him to the vice principal to be searched. No drugs or paraphernalia were found among the student's possessions.

However, Ranii said the LG-SJUHSD is very cautious about violating students' rights. In the event of an alert by a dog, the student responsible for the item or locker is brought to a prearranged room. There, the student is given a speech and asked if his or her belongings can be searched. It is up to the school to administer the appropriate punishment if something is found.

"We always call the police if drugs are involved," Simonson said.

Los Gatos Weekly-Times reporter Michelle Alaimo contributed to this report.

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