Llabak Tharr
03-23-04, 07:13 AM
Boy, 4, takes crack to school
Quote:A 4-year-old Head Start student brought $7,500 in crack cocaine to school in his backpack Monday, eagerly showing it to other students and explaining that it was flour, Indianapolis police said.
"Obviously, these parents aren't going to get any Parent of the Year awards," said Sgt. Roger Tuchek, of the Indianapolis Police Department.
"This could have killed these kids," he said. "A lot of kids were put at risk."
The incident occurred at the Head Start program at 3637 N. Meridian St., which is run by Family Development Services. Teachers called police after seeing the boy show off the plastic bag with white clumps inside.
Each dose, called a "rock," costs about $20 on the street, Tuchek said. That means the boy had about 370 doses.
"It's rare for kids to go to school with crack cocaine . . . ," Tuchek said. "In my 18 years on the force, that is the second-most amount of drugs I've seen one person carry."
Police are seeking the child's parents, Kenneth Lee Green, 24, and Andrea D. Jackson, 23, in connection with the case. Court records showed that Jackson was wanted on a warrant for failing to appear in court on a 2001 theft charge. Green had been convicted of carrying a firearm without a license in 1999, and of resisting law enforcement and marijuana possession in 1997.
Police said the 4-year-old and a sibling were in the custody of Child Protection Services, but officers still are seeking another sibling -- an 11-month-old baby.
Tuchek said child welfare workers are investigating claims of child abuse against the parents.
A California toddler died after she ate some cocaine she found around the house in 2002, and last month, her father pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. The Associated Press reported the man's girlfriend found the child in his room, suffering a seizure. The 3-year-old died 11 days later from seizures and cardiac arrest.
After police arrived at about 8:30 a.m. on Monday, they seized the drugs and interviewed the boy. Then they got a search warrant for his parents' home, in the 400 block of West 41st Street.
The police presence startled parents picking up their children from Head Start, a federally funded early-childhood education program.
"This is a real good school, so something like this is very unusual," said David Lewis, 36. "I'm thinking the child just picked up the wrong backpack and the parents didn't notice."
/facepalm
Quote:A 4-year-old Head Start student brought $7,500 in crack cocaine to school in his backpack Monday, eagerly showing it to other students and explaining that it was flour, Indianapolis police said.
"Obviously, these parents aren't going to get any Parent of the Year awards," said Sgt. Roger Tuchek, of the Indianapolis Police Department.
"This could have killed these kids," he said. "A lot of kids were put at risk."
The incident occurred at the Head Start program at 3637 N. Meridian St., which is run by Family Development Services. Teachers called police after seeing the boy show off the plastic bag with white clumps inside.
Each dose, called a "rock," costs about $20 on the street, Tuchek said. That means the boy had about 370 doses.
"It's rare for kids to go to school with crack cocaine . . . ," Tuchek said. "In my 18 years on the force, that is the second-most amount of drugs I've seen one person carry."
Police are seeking the child's parents, Kenneth Lee Green, 24, and Andrea D. Jackson, 23, in connection with the case. Court records showed that Jackson was wanted on a warrant for failing to appear in court on a 2001 theft charge. Green had been convicted of carrying a firearm without a license in 1999, and of resisting law enforcement and marijuana possession in 1997.
Police said the 4-year-old and a sibling were in the custody of Child Protection Services, but officers still are seeking another sibling -- an 11-month-old baby.
Tuchek said child welfare workers are investigating claims of child abuse against the parents.
A California toddler died after she ate some cocaine she found around the house in 2002, and last month, her father pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. The Associated Press reported the man's girlfriend found the child in his room, suffering a seizure. The 3-year-old died 11 days later from seizures and cardiac arrest.
After police arrived at about 8:30 a.m. on Monday, they seized the drugs and interviewed the boy. Then they got a search warrant for his parents' home, in the 400 block of West 41st Street.
The police presence startled parents picking up their children from Head Start, a federally funded early-childhood education program.
"This is a real good school, so something like this is very unusual," said David Lewis, 36. "I'm thinking the child just picked up the wrong backpack and the parents didn't notice."
/facepalm