Pubdate: Thu, 08 Mar 2001 Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI) Copyright: 2001 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Contact: P.O. Box 661, Milwaukee, WI 53201 Fax: 414-224-8280 Website: http://www.jsonline.com/ Forum: http://www.jsonline.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimate.cgi Author: Scott Williams, Jacqueline Seibel and JAMAAL ABDUL-ALIM of the Journal Note: Lisa Sink of the Journal Sentinel staff and The Associated Press contributed to this report MIDDLE SCHOOLERS IN GUN SCARE HAD HEROIN, POLICE SAY Elm Grove Officials Stunned By Discovery Of Drug Worth $1,500 Two 14-year-old students arrested in a gun scare at an Elm Grove middle school had 50 to 100 rounds of ammunition and $1,500 worth of heroin, police said Thursday. "Heroin? Absolutely alarming," Elmbrook School Superintendent Matt Gibson said. In addition, one of the eighth-graders told police that the two handled the .22-caliber handgun in a bathroom at the school before they were arrested Wednesday near Pilgrim Park Middle School. The other denied it. While being interviewed by police, each boy tried to lay some of the blame on the other, authorities said. "We have two fairly sophisticated, fairly uncooperative suspects," Elm Grove Police Chief Jeff Haig said. "There was some finger-pointing." One of the boys is from Brookfield and the other is from Milwaukee, attending Pilgrim Park as part of the Chapter 220 integration program. When arrested, the Brookfield boy had the gun, a switchblade and a bottle of whiskey, while the other boy had about 10 grams of a substance that tested positive as heroin, police said. That amount of heroin would have a street value of $1,500 to $1,800, police said. Scary Situation Haig called the combination of drugs and weapons "not a good mix." "It was frightening. It certainly was frightening," he said. Several parents felt similarly and kept their children home from school Thursday. More than 30 other students met with school counselors to talk about their fears and concerns. Elmbrook School District officials will meet with the parents at 7 a.m. today at the school to discuss the incident. Both teens were arrested around 2:45 p.m. Wednesday after leading police on a brief foot chase from the school, 1500 Pilgrim Parkway. School officials had called police earlier in the day when the Brookfield boy fled school rather than face disciplinary action after being accused of vandalizing another student's locker. Police spotted the two on school grounds at the end of the school day. Haig said the boys had removed the handgun and a box of ammunition, with 50 to 100 rounds, from the Brookfield boy's home on Sunday. The police chief said investigators are convinced the boys were intent on getting to Milwaukee and did not plan to create problems in Elm Grove. At one point, the two tried to get on a school bus, but the driver might have turned them away because the Brookfield boy didn't belong on the bus, officials said. "It's anybody's guess what the boys were going to do in Milwaukee," Haig said. In a delinquency petition filed Thursday in Milwaukee County Children's Court, the Milwaukee boy was accused of felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor possession of a weapon. According to the delinquency petition, the Milwaukee boy told police that both youths at one point had the weapon inside a bathroom at Pilgrim Park on Wednesday. The boy said he had checked the semiautomatic weapon to see if it was loaded in the bathroom before handing it back to the Brookfield boy. Police said the weapon was not loaded when it was confiscated. Pointing Fingers Haig said the two boys have tried to blame the other for some of their actions and have given police conflicting accounts. He said the Brookfield boy at one point would not respond when asked directly whether the gun was ever inside the school. In a brief court hearing Thursday in Milwaukee County, the Milwaukee boy told authorities he was holding the heroin for the Brookfield boy. Milwaukee County Children's Judge Francis Wasielewski ordered the Milwaukee youth to remain in detention, pending a plea hearing set for Tuesday. Court records show both boys live with foster families. The Brookfield boy appeared in Waukesha County Juvenile Court Thursday afternoon without his family. Waukesha County Court Commissioner Linda Georgeson ordered that he continue to be held in custody until a hearing Monday, when a delinquency petition is expected to be filed. "Obviously, we requested secure detention because we're concerned about the safety of the community," Assistant District Attorney Timothy Westphal said. Isolated Incident Gibson said the Brookfield-based school district has never before found evidence of heroin in one of its schools - or any illicit drug other than marijuana. "It's been very isolated," the superintendent said of drug problems. The State Crime Laboratory is testing the substance that police said they found in a pill container in the Milwaukee boy's pocket. Preliminary tests showed it was 10.5 grams of heroin. Haig said investigators have not determined where the Milwaukee boy got the drug or whether he had it at school. Coincidentally, police have been planning to begin their first-ever drug searches of Elmbrook schools using a dog trained to sniff out drugs. Officials said those searches probably will begin in the high schools and middle schools later this year. Both boys have been suspended from school for at least five days and could face expulsion. Elsewhere: In Fond du Lac, a 14-year-old student suspected of writing a school hit list posted on a computer chat room was taken into custody Thursday, authorities said. The boy was released to his parents and was referred to juvenile authorities. A student at Horning Middle School in Waukesha is suspected of sending a threatening computer message about harming "the popular kids," officials said Thursday. Waukesha Public Schools Superintendent David Schmidt said police investigated and "found nothing behind it." Nonetheless, he said, the matter remains under investigation. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth