Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

First-Grader's 'Candy' Treats Turn Out To Be Crack Cocaine
The Chicago Sun-Times ^ | March 21, 2005 | Robert Herguth

Posted on 03/21/2005 9:58:29 AM PST by MisterRepublican

A first-grader brought dozens of little bags of crack cocaine to his Chicago Heights elementary school Friday and began passing them out to classmates, calling them "candy," officials said Sunday.

Adults at Lincoln School, which has fewer than 200 students in kindergarten through eighth grades, learned what was going on through other kids and alerted police.

"He lives in a household where apparently there's drug dealing, and when he sees these little bags of rock cocaine around the house, they're telling him it's candy," Chicago Heights Deputy Police Chief Michael Camilli said.

A member of the household is believed to have stashed "40 bags of rock in his book bag . . . when he gets to school he finds them in his book bag, and he knows this is 'candy' because this is what [people in his home] say it is," Camilli said. "Then he starts handing it out. It's insane."

'All bases were covered'

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was contacted. A DCFS spokeswoman had no information when contacted Sunday. The boy's guardians are being sought; arrests are "pending," Camilli said.

Nobody apparently was hurt in the incident. But a person familiar with the situation was angry with the response by police, saying that "somebody could have been hurt because they didn't go around and talk to kids about it" and make sure all drugs were recovered.

However, Chicago Heights District 170 Supt. Dollie Helsel said that "all bases were covered, truly," and she's confident "anything that was given out was retrieved."

There was a rumor -- which police couldn't confirm -- the boy had passed out or shown the drug to other kids at a community center in the south suburb Thursday.

(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: black; crackcocaine; criminalparents; rockcandy; tasteslike; wodlist; yikes

1 posted on 03/21/2005 9:58:29 AM PST by MisterRepublican
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: MisterRepublican
"He lives in a household where apparently there's drug dealing, and when he sees these little bags of rock cocaine around the house, they're telling him it's candy,"

Ya think?

2 posted on 03/21/2005 10:00:53 AM PST by Blood of Tyrants (G-d is not a Republican. But Satan is definitely a Democrat.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MisterRepublican

"The neighborhood around the school can be "a tough area," with street drug dealing sometimes visible from school grounds, school officials said."


3 posted on 03/21/2005 10:05:37 AM PST by MisterRepublican (I DEMAND THAT FOX NEWS GET JENNIFER ECCLESTON BACK FROM NBC!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Blood of Tyrants

Sheesh, what if those kids had started eating the stuff?


4 posted on 03/21/2005 10:06:06 AM PST by stylin_geek (Liberalism: comparable to a chicken with its head cut off, but with more spastic motions)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: MisterRepublican

How sad that a child has to grow up in an environment such as that.


5 posted on 03/21/2005 10:08:21 AM PST by reagan_fanatic ("Darwinism is a belief in the meaninglessness of existence" - R. Kirk)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MisterRepublican
I would never tell my child that the cocaine is candy -- it might lead to trouble (as we see here).

On the other hand, the trick I play on my 6-year old, is that I leave my loaded gun around and tell her "If you point this at people and pull the trigger, you will tickle the other person! But you shouldn't touch the gun until you're older." So far, she hasn't touched it. Based on that, I guess my little joke is harmless.

[/sarcasm]

6 posted on 03/21/2005 10:09:06 AM PST by ClearCase_guy (The fourth estate is a fifth column.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MisterRepublican
a person familiar with the situation was angry with the response by police

That's right. It's all the fault of the police.

7 posted on 03/21/2005 10:10:01 AM PST by jwalburg (Those buried included children still clutching toys)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MisterRepublican

Only in Chicago.


8 posted on 03/21/2005 10:16:47 AM PST by 12 Gauge Mossberg (I Approved This Posting - Paid For By Mossberg, Inc.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: stylin_geek
Sheesh, what if those kids had started eating the stuff?

They know to smoke it. It's not like they are in Kindegarten or something.

9 posted on 03/21/2005 10:18:00 AM PST by AppyPappy (If You're Not A Part Of The Solution, There's Good Money To Be Made In Prolonging The Problem.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: 12 Gauge Mossberg

Yeah, like kids in other big cities don't grow up with dealer parents. Doesn't surprise me in the least.


10 posted on 03/21/2005 10:20:00 AM PST by yobid
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: AppyPappy

First graders know how to light up a crack pipe? You're kidding, right?

Of course, this day and age, there are probably classes in school on "safe drug abuse."


11 posted on 03/21/2005 10:20:16 AM PST by stylin_geek (Liberalism: comparable to a chicken with its head cut off, but with more spastic motions)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: yobid

Yes but in Chicago, nothing will happen more than a court appearance.

Would you send your kids to any public school in Cook County? I sure in the hell wouldn't.


12 posted on 03/21/2005 10:24:07 AM PST by wrathof59 ("to the Everlasting Glory of the Infantry".........Robert A Heinlein)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: MisterRepublican

How did these drugs get thru that "Drug Free Zone"? I thought here was lights, sirens, barbed wire and Swat teams on guard in the "Drug Free Zone". Also, was this individual handcuffed and escorted from the school grounds and told never to come back again? Now if this person had drawn a picture of a gun, whoa nellie, now that would be a very serious violation of school code.


13 posted on 03/21/2005 10:24:34 AM PST by taxesareforever
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: reagan_fanatic

That was my thought, too. The kid brings what he thinks is candy, to share with his friends.


14 posted on 03/21/2005 10:24:51 AM PST by TomGuy (America: Best friend or worst enemy. Choose wisely.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: wrathof59

I wouldnt HAVE kids and LIVE in a cesspool city let alone send them to publik skewls.


15 posted on 03/21/2005 10:27:50 AM PST by yobid
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: wrathof59
Yes but in Chicago, nothing will happen more than a court appearance.

Zero tolerance drug policy. They'll probably kick the kid out of school for transporting and distributing drugs on school grounds.

Adults? Sorry, we can't prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt.

16 posted on 03/21/2005 10:34:30 AM PST by siunevada
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: MisterRepublican

"40 bags of rock in his book bag . . . when he gets to school he finds them in his book bag, and he knows this is 'candy' because this is what [people in his home] say it is," Camilli said. "Then he starts handing it out. It's insane."


OMG!


17 posted on 03/21/2005 10:35:18 AM PST by nmh (Intelligent people recognize Intelligent Design (God).)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: AppyPappy; Thinkin' Gal
fer cryin' out loud, don't let him bring in cupcakes.

"'All bases were covered' " . . . and are belong to them.

18 posted on 03/21/2005 10:54:47 AM PST by cyn
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: MisterRepublican

So how much 'candy' has this little boy eaten?

Dumba&&'s are telling a little kid it's CANDY??? And leaving it around the house?

I'm sickened.


19 posted on 03/21/2005 12:23:24 PM PST by sandbar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MisterRepublican

Yup. And unless his Daddy has some cash in reserve his supplier is going to want payment for the lost rocks. So the Daddy will now be on the run from the cops and the gang.


20 posted on 03/21/2005 5:30:51 PM PST by festus (The constitution may be flawed but its a whole lot better than what we have now.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson