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05-19-11, 08:47 PM
Police Search Kindergarten Student's Home For 'Magic' Heroin
Police Say Drugs Found In 7-Year-Old's Bag At Roosevelt School In Carrick
PITTSBURGH -- Police say the amount of drugs in packets brought to a local school by a 7-year-old boy would have been enough to kill a kindergarten student, and not all of the drugs have been accounted for.
Pittsburgh police are investigating after they said the boy brought several stamp bags of heroin to Roosevelt PreK-5 elementary school in Pittsburgh's Carrick neighborhood on Wednesday.
On Thursday, police searched the child's home on Roll Street.
"The mother gave investigators consent to search the home, so our narcotics detectives went all through the home. They didn't find any evidence of any type of drugs there," said Asst. Police Chief Maurita Bryant.
Channel 4 Action News' Marcie Cipriani reported that sources told her the boy said he found the drugs in his parents' bedroom.
"The 7-year-old will not be charged. There were some experienced narcotics detectives on scene, and they do no believe that the young man had any idea what it was that he had other than what he referred to as 'magic stickers,'" said Bryant.
Parents are being urged to check their children's belongings to make sure they don't have any of the drugs.
"It's appalling because it scares you. It's like you wonder, your kids are going to school and you wonder if your kids are going to get a hold of drugs, or if they'll eat it or something. It's scary," said parent Leaette Young
Young said she told her child what to look out for and not to accept anything from anyone at school.
Police spokeswoman Diane Richard said the boy involved in the incident passed some of the small bags to three children at Roosevelt PreK-5, and some of the kids took those bags home.
A teacher found the heroin and alerted the principal, who uncovered 18 stamp bags in the boy's locker and backpack, police said.
Police said the boy told detectives that he passed out the bags over the past couple of days.
Three of the other students' parents brought a bag of heroin back to the school after it had been taken home, police said.
"What we do know is that a kindergarten student at Pittsburgh Roosevelt Pre-K-5 notified teachers that he cut his hand, which we then discovered that he was in possession of a razor, at which time his locker was searched, where it was found that he was in possession of 18 small bags of heroin, as well as some razors," Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said.
Police said it was not yet clear if the boy distributed the bags while he was in school, on the bus or both.
Channel 4 Action News reported that the school sent home letters to parents and the principal spoke to all the students on Thursday about the dangers of the drug.
Police said the heroin is known by kids as "the magic ticket" because the bags have a picture of a rabbit coming out of a hat.
Police said parents should check their kids' school bags for any heroin because the boy has apparently brought the drug to school before.
"We want to make sure parents are asking their children if they received any bags of anything suspicious, as well as checking to make sure they didn't bring it home," Pugh said.
The Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Families will also investigate.
The boy is not being identified publicly because of his age. The school said the boy will face disciplinary action.
Parents told Channel 4 Action News' Keith Jones that they were shocked a child could bring heroin to school.
"I just don't know what to say. I don't know how something like this could happen. I don't. It's so sad and scary all at the same time," said Barbara Winters.
Grandmother Darlene Banks said she checked her granddaughter's clothes and backpack for the heroin bags but did not find any.
"These are elementary kids. There are little bunny rabbits on it. They think it's candy," said Banks.
Banks said she thought the school should have notified parents sooner.
"I am very shocked and very disturbed that the school did not notify us. It was found at 20 to 2 p.m.," said Banks.
Pittsburgh Public Schools alerted parents around 5 p.m.
Principal Vincent Lewandowski told Jones, "This happened right near the very end of the school day. We conducted the investigation with police and didn't know what the facts were. We wanted to make sure the information was accurate."
The following letter is being sent home to parents of Roosevelt students:
On Wednesday, May 18, 2011, just prior to dismissal, it was discovered that a student brought small bags of heroin to school. We were also made aware that several bags were distributed to other children in the building and these families were contacted immediately. The safety of all children is the number one priority at Pittsburgh Roosevelt. A full investigation was conducted with assistance from the Pittsburgh School Police, Pittsburgh Police along with the building administrators. As a safety precaution, Pittsburgh City Police K-9 dogs were brought into both campuses to conduct a search. No additional drugs were found during the search. An alert now message was sent to all students’ homes informing families about the incident and appropriate measure to take if any suspicious materials were found.
The staff and faculty at Pittsburgh Roosevelt are committed to providing your child with a safe and secure environment. The use and or possession of drugs by our students will not be tolerated. With the cooperation of students and families we can ensure our school remains, safe, orderly and drug free. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call the main office at 412-885-7780 or 412-885-7788.Police Search Kindergarten Student's Home For 'Magic' Heroin - Pittsburgh News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh (http://www.wtae.com/news/27942388/detail.html)
Police Say Drugs Found In 7-Year-Old's Bag At Roosevelt School In Carrick
PITTSBURGH -- Police say the amount of drugs in packets brought to a local school by a 7-year-old boy would have been enough to kill a kindergarten student, and not all of the drugs have been accounted for.
Pittsburgh police are investigating after they said the boy brought several stamp bags of heroin to Roosevelt PreK-5 elementary school in Pittsburgh's Carrick neighborhood on Wednesday.
On Thursday, police searched the child's home on Roll Street.
"The mother gave investigators consent to search the home, so our narcotics detectives went all through the home. They didn't find any evidence of any type of drugs there," said Asst. Police Chief Maurita Bryant.
Channel 4 Action News' Marcie Cipriani reported that sources told her the boy said he found the drugs in his parents' bedroom.
"The 7-year-old will not be charged. There were some experienced narcotics detectives on scene, and they do no believe that the young man had any idea what it was that he had other than what he referred to as 'magic stickers,'" said Bryant.
Parents are being urged to check their children's belongings to make sure they don't have any of the drugs.
"It's appalling because it scares you. It's like you wonder, your kids are going to school and you wonder if your kids are going to get a hold of drugs, or if they'll eat it or something. It's scary," said parent Leaette Young
Young said she told her child what to look out for and not to accept anything from anyone at school.
Police spokeswoman Diane Richard said the boy involved in the incident passed some of the small bags to three children at Roosevelt PreK-5, and some of the kids took those bags home.
A teacher found the heroin and alerted the principal, who uncovered 18 stamp bags in the boy's locker and backpack, police said.
Police said the boy told detectives that he passed out the bags over the past couple of days.
Three of the other students' parents brought a bag of heroin back to the school after it had been taken home, police said.
"What we do know is that a kindergarten student at Pittsburgh Roosevelt Pre-K-5 notified teachers that he cut his hand, which we then discovered that he was in possession of a razor, at which time his locker was searched, where it was found that he was in possession of 18 small bags of heroin, as well as some razors," Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said.
Police said it was not yet clear if the boy distributed the bags while he was in school, on the bus or both.
Channel 4 Action News reported that the school sent home letters to parents and the principal spoke to all the students on Thursday about the dangers of the drug.
Police said the heroin is known by kids as "the magic ticket" because the bags have a picture of a rabbit coming out of a hat.
Police said parents should check their kids' school bags for any heroin because the boy has apparently brought the drug to school before.
"We want to make sure parents are asking their children if they received any bags of anything suspicious, as well as checking to make sure they didn't bring it home," Pugh said.
The Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Families will also investigate.
The boy is not being identified publicly because of his age. The school said the boy will face disciplinary action.
Parents told Channel 4 Action News' Keith Jones that they were shocked a child could bring heroin to school.
"I just don't know what to say. I don't know how something like this could happen. I don't. It's so sad and scary all at the same time," said Barbara Winters.
Grandmother Darlene Banks said she checked her granddaughter's clothes and backpack for the heroin bags but did not find any.
"These are elementary kids. There are little bunny rabbits on it. They think it's candy," said Banks.
Banks said she thought the school should have notified parents sooner.
"I am very shocked and very disturbed that the school did not notify us. It was found at 20 to 2 p.m.," said Banks.
Pittsburgh Public Schools alerted parents around 5 p.m.
Principal Vincent Lewandowski told Jones, "This happened right near the very end of the school day. We conducted the investigation with police and didn't know what the facts were. We wanted to make sure the information was accurate."
The following letter is being sent home to parents of Roosevelt students:
On Wednesday, May 18, 2011, just prior to dismissal, it was discovered that a student brought small bags of heroin to school. We were also made aware that several bags were distributed to other children in the building and these families were contacted immediately. The safety of all children is the number one priority at Pittsburgh Roosevelt. A full investigation was conducted with assistance from the Pittsburgh School Police, Pittsburgh Police along with the building administrators. As a safety precaution, Pittsburgh City Police K-9 dogs were brought into both campuses to conduct a search. No additional drugs were found during the search. An alert now message was sent to all students’ homes informing families about the incident and appropriate measure to take if any suspicious materials were found.
The staff and faculty at Pittsburgh Roosevelt are committed to providing your child with a safe and secure environment. The use and or possession of drugs by our students will not be tolerated. With the cooperation of students and families we can ensure our school remains, safe, orderly and drug free. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call the main office at 412-885-7780 or 412-885-7788.Police Search Kindergarten Student's Home For 'Magic' Heroin - Pittsburgh News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh (http://www.wtae.com/news/27942388/detail.html)