Pubdate: Thu, 12 Oct 2006
Source: Honolulu Advertiser (HI)
Copyright: 2006 The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Contact:  http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/195
Author: Ken Kobayashi
Note: MAP archives articles exactly as published, except that our 
editors may redact the names and addresses of accused persons who 
have not been convicted of a crime, if those named are not otherwise 
public figures or officials

TEACHER IN 'ICE' BUST NEVER HAD A DRUG TEST

A Leilehua High School teacher accused of selling  crystal 
methamphetamine allegedly set up drug deals  while at school.

[Name redacted] , 29, a special education teacher who lives  in 
Mililani, is believed to be the first Hawai'i public  school teacher 
prosecuted on charges of selling "ice."  He also allegedly admitted 
to an undercover officer  that he smoked ice.

A Department of Education spokesman yesterday said that  under DOE 
policy, [Name redacted] was not required to undergo  drug testing 
before being hired and there were no drug  tests during his six years 
at the school. DOE policy  does not require regular drug testing for 
employees  except in special cases, the spokesman said.

[Name redacted] was arrested late Thursday night and charged 
with  selling about 15 ounces of crystal methamphetamine to  an 
undercover officer for $44,500.

The criminal complaint and affidavit filed in support  of the charge 
against [Name redacted] contain allegations he not  only sold ice, 
but had been an ice user for seven to  eight years -- dating to 1998 
or 1999, when he attended  Hawai'i Pacific University and played on 
its baseball team.

"I gotta smoke," [Name redacted] is quoted as telling an  undercover 
deputy sheriff in the affidavit filed in  support of the charge.

PALI LONGS PARKING LOT

[Name redacted] is a former baseball player at Kaiser High 
School  who was an honorable-mention selection on the state  all-star 
team. He was recruited out of high school in  1995 to play for HPU.

He was arrested at the Longs Drug Store on Pali Highway  about 11:55 
p.m. and charged with selling ice to the  officer on five different 
occasions in various parking  lots -- away from the Central O'ahu 
school -- over a  span of about a month.

But U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said that for some of the  sales, [Name 
redacted] used a cell phone to set up deals while he  was in his 
classroom or on campus. Kubo added there  were no indications [Name 
redacted] sold drugs to any students.

Authorities obtained a federal search warrant in the  pre-dawn hours 
yesterday and searched [Name redacted] classroom  before the start of 
the school day at Leilehua High to  minimize the disruption to classes.

Federal prosecutors said that after [Name redacted] was 
arrested,  authorities found him in possession of a 
glass  methamphetamine smoking pipe. A torch lighter, a gram  scale 
and several plastic bags with residue that  appeared to be consistent 
with ice were found in his  car. A search of [Name redacted] home 
turned up a  broken glass methamphetamine pipe, a scale, 
several  marijuana "bong" pipes and a small amount of 
marijuana,  according to federal prosecutors.

'VIOLATED PUBLIC TRUST'

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Kawahara said nothing was  recovered 
from the classroom, but said [Name redacted] was a  "significant" 
dealer who had access to nearly a pound  of ice that was sold to the 
undercover officer.

"As a teacher, Mr. [Name redacted] holds a position of trust,"  Kubo 
told reporters at a news conference yesterday. By  selling ice 
without any concern for the community, "Mr. [Name redacted] has 
violated the public trust."

The five charges that [Name redacted] faces carry sentences with  a 
minimum of five years and up to life in prison  without parole.

Kubo said if convicted, [Name redacted] may face a stiffer  sentence 
because of his position of public trust and  also because negotiating 
the deals on campus will  "weigh heavily" on the sentencing judge.

[Name redacted] appeared in court yesterday afternoon, 
sometimes  shaking his head and covering his face with his hands.

"Just be strong, babe," his wife, [Name redacted] , told him 
from  the gallery as he waited for the court to be convened.

"I love you," the wife said. "What's done is done, yeah?"

The Leilehua High School Web site lists both [Name redacted] 
and  [Name redacted] as special education teachers.

After yesterday's court hearing, [Name redacted] lawyer, 
Howard  Luke, said it would be premature to respond to the  charges. 
He said he will seek his client's release at a  hearing tomorrow on 
the federal prosecutors' request to  hold him without bail while his 
case is pending.

"He's very distraught," Luke said.

Luke said his client does not have a criminal record  and has the 
support of his friends and family. Other  relatives in the courtroom 
also expressed support for  [Name redacted] after the end of the 
hearing before he was  escorted from the courtroom, but the relatives 
declined  to comment as they left the courthouse.

"He's otherwise a very decent young man and I think  we'll be able to 
communicate that to the court this  Friday," Luke said.

[Name redacted] is charged with five counts of selling ice to 
a  deputy sheriff posing undercover as a drug purchaser in  amounts 
ranging from an ounce to 5 ounces.

The sales were conducted at the parking lots of the  Kamehameha 
Shopping Center in Kalihi, the Foodland at  Waipi'o Gentry, the Russ 
K. Makaha Quiksilver  Boardriders Club on Kapi'olani Boulevard and 
the Pali  Longs Drug Store, federal prosecutors said.

The undercover agent paid [Name redacted] $44,500 for the 
ice,  according to prosecutors.

Kubo as well as other federal prosecutors, police and  Department of 
Education spokesman Greg Knudsen said  they were not aware of any 
other ice prosecution  against a public school teacher. The public 
schools  currently have about 13,000 teachers.

NO CRIMINAL RECORD

[Name redacted] was subjected to a criminal background check  prior 
to employment, Knudsen said. The check showed  [Name redacted] had no 
criminal record when he became a special  education teacher, Knudsen said.

Because DOE policy does not require it, he was not  given a 
pre-employment drug screen.

"Under some circumstance we can request an employee  seek medical 
evaluation and drug testing if we have  cause to suspect that a 
person's job performance might  be affected by the use of illegal 
substances," Knudsen  said.

There was no evidence that [Name redacted] performance had 
been  affected, Knudsen said. He declined to say whether  [Name 
redacted] had ever been asked to take a drug test.

"I understand that he related well to the students and  at one point 
was probably a very excellent teacher," he  said.

[Name redacted] has been placed on administrative leave.

Teachers and employees in the DOE do not need to  undergo any regular 
routine drug testing, except for  some special employees, such as bus 
drivers, who fall  under the regulations of the Public Utilities 
Commission. Individual employees could be asked to take  a test if 
there is reason to suspect the use of drugs  is affecting job performance.

"People can be hired and disciplined based on  nonperformance in a 
number of forms. Whether or not  they are not performing based on the 
effects of some  drug or lack of preparation or poor attitude -- all 
those things don't necessarily require drug testing,"  he said.

He also dismissed questions about whether a mandatory  drug-testing 
policy should be implemented.

"I don't believe it is justified at this point. We are  talking about 
one individual among 13,000 teachers and  presumably, if you follow 
that logic, it should apply  to all DOE employers. So we're taking 
20,000 to 30,000  individuals and it's not fair to cast all of them 
under  some cloud of suspicion based on this one case," he  said.

The Hawai'i State Teachers Association could not be  reached for 
comment yesterday.

COACHES ARE CHECKED

Last week, following the state auditor's finding that  Kailua High 
School had failed to appropriately clear a  number of coaches who had 
criminal records during the  past three years -- including one who 
had been  convicted of murder -- the DOE said it would verify  that 
all public school athletic coaches statewide have  had background checks.

The DOE continues to do those checks, and Knudsen said  the DOE 
continues to examine the accuracy of the Kailua  audit.

The prosecution's case against [Name redacted] was outlined in 
a  detailed 29-page affidavit by a federal Drug  Enforcement 
Administration agent.

RECORDED PHONE CALLS

According to the affidavit, a confidential informant  who owed [Name 
redacted] a $3,000 drug debt provided the DEA with  information. The 
informant later introduced [Name redacted] to  the undercover 
officer, a deputy sheriff who used the  nickname "Duke."

The affidavit quoted extensively from what it said were  recorded 
cell phone conversations detailing  negotiations.

In one cell phone conversation, [Name redacted] asked the  undercover 
deputy if he was a "cop," according to the  affidavit. The deputy 
denied it, then asked [Name redacted] i if he  was really a teacher 
of if he was actually a cop.

[Name redacted] is accused of selling ice to the undercover  deputy 
two more times after that conversation.

[Name redacted] lives at Apele Place in a quiet cul-de-sac 
of  single-family homes and duplexes in Mililani.

RECENTLY HAD A BABY

Neighbors were shocked yesterday to hear of his arrest.  They said 
[Name redacted] and his wife were a pleasant couple who  had recently 
had a baby.

"He seems like a good guy. He seems like a family man,"  said Jon 
Ferrell, who lives two doors down from [Name redacted] .  "I never 
saw anything weird there."

In addition to teaching special education, [Name redacted] 
has  served in various athletic coaching capacities since  2000, DOE 
spokesman Knudsen said.

[Name redacted] former baseball coach at HPU, Allan Sato, said  he 
was "very shocked" by the allegations.

"Academically, he proved a lot of people wrong. I don't  have 
anything negative to say about him," Sato said.  "As far as drugs, I 
am shocked. Wow. I'm shocked."

[Name redacted] was senior captain of the HPU baseball team in 1999.

"He was a team guy; he always wanted what was best for  the team," Sato said.

He said [Name redacted] was generally well-liked by team members  and 
was popular among the general student body at HPU.

"He was no bully. He was not being Mother Teresa,  either. But he was 
the kind of guy that tried to lead  the team in the right direction," 
Sato said.

$3,000 AN OUNCE: 'THE STUFF IS DEADLY... YEAH, I TRIED' EM'

Here are excerpts from a criminal complaint and supporting affidavit 
filed by a federal Drug Enforcement Administration agent in the case 
against [Name redacted] .

[Name redacted] , a special education teacher at Leilehua High 
School, was arrested Tuesday night and later charged with selling 
about 15 ounces of crystal methamphetamine to an undercover state 
deputy sheriff on five occasions.

[Name redacted] allegedly first sold methamphetamine to an undercover 
deputy sheriff on Sept. 8. The sale was for 5 grams. He allegedly 
sold to the same deputy sheriff four other times: Sept. 14, 19, 29 and Oct. 10.

He was arrested at 11:55 p.m. Tuesday night after allegedly selling 
$12,500 worth of ice to the undercover officer. A methamphetamine 
pipe was found in his possession and assorted drug paraphernalia and 
cash was found in his vehicle, the complaint said.

At 12:35 p.m. Sept. 19, [Name redacted] took a phone call from the 
undercover officer, later referred to as UC, to allegedly set up a drug deal.

[Name redacted] indicated he was on lunch break at Leilehua High 
School, and that "the bell going to ring in about 5 minutes."

The undercover officer joked that "make sure you're not late (for) 
the bell, uh?" and [Name redacted] said, "No, no, no, I stay in my 
room; it's all good." UC asked, "You get your own classroom?" and 
[Name redacted] said, "Yeah."

In the same conversation, [Name redacted] also allegedly indicated he 
had 5 ounces in hand and could proceed directly to a meeting site to 
complete the drug transaction.

On Sept. 20 at about 4:12 p.m., UC received a call from [Name 
redacted] . Here is a transcript, from the complaint, of part of that 
conversation:

[Name redacted] : Just wanted fo' ask you one question. My friend 
told me, you not one cop, eh?

UC: Crazy bull, what make you think that, brah? What's up with that, man?

[Name redacted] : No, I tell you right now, my friend, I just talk to 
my friend, he said if we ask person that, they cannot lie.

UC: (expletive) beats me, brah

[Name redacted] : Huh?

UC: (expletive), beats me, I don't know if that true or not.

[Name redacted] : No, that's what he said. They can't use it in 
court, that's why.

Later, in the same conversation, the officer asks [Name redacted] if 
he is who says he is.

UC: Maybe you not one school teacher.

[Name redacted] : (Expletive) you, I show you my badge, cuz. I show 
you my badge, my (expletive) DOE, my DOE (expletive) badge, brah.

At 10:26 p.m. Sept. 26, [Name redacted] allegedly telephoned UC and 
told him about his own drug habit:

[Name redacted] : You no smoke, uh?

UC: No, no, no, I no smoke. It's all about the business, it's all 
about the business.

[Name redacted] : See, that's the smartest person, you know what I mean?

UC: Yeah.

[Name redacted] : No, seriously.

UC: Yeah, that's what I hear.

[Name redacted] : 'Cause that's what, ah, I cannot do. I gotta smoke.

UC: Oh, yeah.

UC: Yeah, but what about fo', da kine, for you, your, um, work? 
([Name redacted] job as a teacher).

[Name redacted] : What about 'em?

UC: They no check?

[Name redacted] : Not yet. I keep it all good, I hope.

[Name redacted] : (expletive), I been getting away with, uh, I been 
getting away with the drinking Clorox, cuz, how many years already.

UC: Fo' real, brah? You drink that?

[Name redacted] : That's what I been doing.

[Name redacted] : You don't drink it.

UC: What you do then? You just what?

[Name redacted] : You put some (Clorox) on your fingah .... ([Name 
redacted] goes on to explain the next steps in detail).

UC: It's all good to go.

[Name redacted] : All my four years in college.

Excerpts from a Sept. 28 phone conversation, in which [Name redacted] 
allegedly talks about the quality of methampheta-mine he's going to 
sell to the undercover officer for $3,000 an ounce.

[Name redacted] : The stuff is deadly.

UC: The stuff is what?

[Name redacted] : Deadly.

UC: The stuff is deadly? OK, I'll take your word for it.

[Name redacted] : I tried 'em.

UC: You tried 'em?

[Name redacted] : Yeah, I tried 'em.

Source: Criminal complaint, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai'i

Advertiser staff writers Loren Moreno and Mary Vorsino  contributed 
to this report.
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MAP posted-by: Elaine