Pubdate: Thu, 04 May 2006 Source: Times, The (Munster IN) Copyright: 2006 The Munster Times Contact: http://www.nwitimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/832 Author: Ken Kosky Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) SCHOOL COP ARRESTS SEVEN Four PHS Students Charged For Fleeing, Three For Drugs PORTAGE | Police arrested seven Portage High School students this week -- three on drug charges and four on charges that they ditched class and then fled from police. A total of 39 students have now been arrested at the Portage schools since Cpl. Troy Williams became school resource officer on Jan. 1. "I'm hoping we are laying the groundwork for next year because we're not going to stop," Williams said. The fleeing arrests were made Monday afternoon after Williams spotted four students walking on the access road leading north from the high school to a subdivision. The students, who were ditching class, fled on foot but Williams said he found them hiding together near a shed in the subdivision. One of the students, a sophomore male, was taken to the Juvenile Detention Center because he was already on home detention from prior offenses. The other students, freshmen girls, were released to their parents. The drug arrests were made Tuesday morning after a teacher said he caught a female student passing a prescription drug to another female student. The girl who accepted the pill was arrested on a drug possession charge. The girl accused of passing the pill possessed two more pills and ingested three other pills, police said. She was medically cleared at a hospital and was arrested on a charge of drug possession with the intent to deliver. She told police she got the pills from a male student in the school's commons area before the bell rang. The male student was arrested on a drug dealing charge. All seven arrested juveniles face school sanctions. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom