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Four Arrested in Two School Drug Busts

April 25, 2009 — Two men were arrested Thursday on St. Croix and two teens were arrested on St. Thomas in two separate incidents involving possession of marijuana at or near schools.
On St. Croix two men were arrested on drug charges in the vicinity of the St. Croix Central High School.
Joshua George, 23, was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. George lives in Estate Lowery Hill and was held on $10,000 bail. Starking Reyes, 18, a high school student, was arrested for simple possession of a controlled substance. Reyes lives in the Harbor View Apartments. His bail was set at $500 and he was released into the custody of his parents.
According to Police Department spokesperson Melody Rames, the arrests were the result of reports of suspicious activities near the school. Rames said St. Croix Police Chief Oakland Benta sent several units to the Central campus, and it paid off.
Police officers from the Investigation Bureau, the Office of Chief of Police and other officers were present in the area across from St. Croix Central High School from about 7 a.m. Thursday to observe and gather information on suspected drug-dealing. Police detained several individuals, but only George and Reyes were arrested.
The arrests on St. Thomas were not part of a coordinated effort, she said, just a case of the police doing their jobs.
The territory's police provide school security officers, and at about 11:15 a.m. Thursday officers assigned to the Bertha B. Boschulte Jr. High School observed two students acting suspiciously and investigated. The students, who are minors, were found in possession of 24 small clear plastic bags of a substance that was field tested to be marijuana. The dime bags have a street value of $240.
The male was remanded to the Youth Rehabilitation Center (YRC) on St. Croix and the female was placed on a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and returned to the custody of her parents.
Sgt. Barrington Thomas said Thursday's arrests sent a message to all students.
“If you get into trouble at school you will either be arrested or placed under a curfew restricting you from participating in any Carnival activities, including Jouvert," he said.
The police department is always in the schools, Rames added, and students have to be aware that people are watching them.
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