Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jan 2005
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Vancouver Sun
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Larry Pynn
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

PRINCIPAL ACCUSED OF TIPPING OFF MOM IN POT INVESTIGATION

Daughter Of School Board Member Allegedly Carried Drugs On School Bus

BLAINE - The principal of Blaine high school faces criminal charges in 
Whatcom county for allegedly tipping off a school board member that her 
16-year-old daughter was under investigation for transporting marijuana on 
a school bus.

The bus travelled between the Washington state communities of Point Roberts 
and Blaine, passing through Surrey and Delta.

Dan Newell, principal since 1990, was charged Tuesday with rendering 
criminal assistance and obstructing a law enforcement officer, accusations 
based on clandestine phone conversations with the school board member from 
a pay phone on Dec. 2, 2003.

Each offence is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 US fine.

According to an affidavit filed by Peter Dworkin, assistant chief criminal 
deputy prosecuting attorney in Whatcom county, Newell had been informed by 
police about the continuing investigation into marijuana smuggling aboard 
the school bus and the fact that the board member's daughter, identified 
only as C.M., was specifically targeted.

Newell is quoted as stating anonymously on the phone: "I am from the school 
and I know [C.M.]. I am concerned about [C.M.] being on the bus. She is on 
videotape with a large duffel bag. If she is doing anything illegal, she 
needs to not do it on the bus or at school. She is suspected as one of the 
students they are watching."

The voice on the phone later added he worked for the school and that "this 
conversation never took place because my career would be in jeopardy, you 
have to promise me that."

Questioned later by police, Newell said he was "just trying to help a 
school board member," according to the affidavit.

Police claim the daughter was smuggling eight to 10 kilograms of marijuana 
on almost a daily basis from Point Roberts to Blaine aboard the bus, 
earning $1,000 to $2,000 a time.

The parents moved their daughter out of the state as a result of the phone 
call, and no charges were laid against her.

The girl's boyfriend, James Jarosz, 18 at the time and living in Point 
Roberts, eventually recruited other bus students to haul drugs, said the 
affidavit.

In June 2004, Jarosz was charged with three counts of delivery of marijuana 
and one count of conspiracy to delivery marijuana. His trial is pending.

Mary Lynne Derrington, superintendent of the Blaine school district, issued 
a brief news release Tuesday saying Newell had been placed on paid 
administrative leave pending the outcome of his case.

He is to appear in Whatcom county district court on Feb. 4.

The former school board member -- whose name is not being published to 
protect her daughter -- defended Newell in an interview with the Bellingham 
Herald, saying she recognized his voice, and that his warning saved her 
daughter from prosecution and got the girl to clean up her act. "The whole 
situation gave her life back," the mother said.

The investigation was conducted by the Whatcom county sheriff's office, the 
Blaine police department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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MAP posted-by: Beth