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Kids threatened over drug money
08:36 AM CST on Thursday, January 27, 2005
By TAWNELL D. HOBBS and GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News
The discovery of a large sum of money by at least one South Dallas elementary student has proven to be more trouble than treasure, sparking concerns that a drug dealer may resort to violence to retrieve the cash.
Authorities and parents say the drug dealer already has threatened children at their homes to recover the money – perhaps as much as $100,000.
The money apparently was found in the area of J.J. Rhoads Learning Center, where police and school officials took extraordinary measures Wednesday to protect the students and staff.
Parents at the school Wednesday said the money was shared among several students, and possibly others in the neighborhood. The identity of the student – or students – who found the money was not immediately known.
"We do know there are persons of all ages involved," Mr. Claxton said. "We are aware of multiple people that have received varying amounts."
Some parents said Wednesday that they're worried about what might happen to their children.
Erie Roy was watching television with her 12-year-old son Tuesday afternoon when two men stormed through her open front door with two of the boy's friends in tow.
One of the men kept his hand in his pocket as if he had a gun, she said, as one of the boys cried. He pleaded with her son, "Man, give them the money, I'm in trouble man, I'm in trouble."
The intruders towered over her son, who was home sick from school. The man who did all the talking threatened him, Ms. Roy said.
"He said, 'I don't have no problem with killing you. I want my money right now,' " she recalled.
Ms. Roy, a 39-year-old office worker for American Airlines Center, ordered her son into the kitchen and called 911. She put the phone on speaker and started describing the men, who ran out and drove away.
"The police took my name and number and said, 'If they come back, call us.' These are drug dealers. If they come back – I'm afraid," she said, sobbing. "I know they're going to hurt me. What am I supposed to do?"
After the men left her house Tuesday, she got a call from her 17-year-old son's best friend. The friend described two men who'd showed up at Lincoln High School and choked him, demanding their money.
On Wednesday night, Ms. Roy said her house was being watched by three men sitting in a car outside. That's when she sent her sons to a relative for safekeeping.
Ms. Roy said her youngest son was offered money by neighborhood kids Sunday but insists he never took it. Her older son, she said, didn't know about the money until he found out that the men barged into their home Tuesday.
Ms. Roy gave the intruders' license plate number to the police. She's afraid they'll come back.
"I know these people are serious. If they come back, these drug dealers, they're not coming back to have a cup of coffee," she said.
KaJuana Junior, another parent, said her 12-year-old daughter and other students were each offered $200 by a classmate. She said her daughter didn't take the cash.
Sgt. Gil Cerda, a Dallas Police Department spokesman, said that an investigation is under way and that students are being interviewed.
Safety concerns prompted authorities to beef up security at J.J. Rhoads Learning Center on Wednesday. Access to the school was restricted for about an hour as school district police patrolled the campus. The unusual security created an atmosphere of confusion at the school Wednesday afternoon, when children typically are released.
Some parents, including Jackie Austin, said they received phone calls telling them to pick up their children.
"They never did tell me what's going on," Ms. Austin said after retrieving her son.
When parents arrived, access to the building was limited.
"This is outrageous," one man said as he left the school with his young son.
Mr. Claxton said he could not comment on the specific nature of the potential threat to the school and its students. For now, he said, extra security will be stationed at the school.
Ms. Junior, whose daughter was among the students offered cash, doesn't plan to bring her children back to the school until the matter is cleared up.
"It's scary," she said. "We don't know what's going on."
Mr. Claxton said the district plans to send letters home with students to explain what has happened.
"We hope parents will be very understanding," he said.
Aimee Bolender, president of the teacher's group Alliance AFT, said teachers at the school are concerned that whoever is behind the threats could resort to a drive-by shooting. Some teachers, she said, were debating whether to come to work today.
"They need evidence that they will be protected," she said. "They are very, very fearful ... for themselves and their students."
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...s/stories/012705dnmetfoundmoney.48e025d1.html
Well, the kids should be safe. After all, isn't it illegal to bring a gun to a school?
08:36 AM CST on Thursday, January 27, 2005
By TAWNELL D. HOBBS and GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News
The discovery of a large sum of money by at least one South Dallas elementary student has proven to be more trouble than treasure, sparking concerns that a drug dealer may resort to violence to retrieve the cash.
Authorities and parents say the drug dealer already has threatened children at their homes to recover the money – perhaps as much as $100,000.
The money apparently was found in the area of J.J. Rhoads Learning Center, where police and school officials took extraordinary measures Wednesday to protect the students and staff.
Parents at the school Wednesday said the money was shared among several students, and possibly others in the neighborhood. The identity of the student – or students – who found the money was not immediately known.
"We do know there are persons of all ages involved," Mr. Claxton said. "We are aware of multiple people that have received varying amounts."
Some parents said Wednesday that they're worried about what might happen to their children.
Erie Roy was watching television with her 12-year-old son Tuesday afternoon when two men stormed through her open front door with two of the boy's friends in tow.
One of the men kept his hand in his pocket as if he had a gun, she said, as one of the boys cried. He pleaded with her son, "Man, give them the money, I'm in trouble man, I'm in trouble."
The intruders towered over her son, who was home sick from school. The man who did all the talking threatened him, Ms. Roy said.
"He said, 'I don't have no problem with killing you. I want my money right now,' " she recalled.
Ms. Roy, a 39-year-old office worker for American Airlines Center, ordered her son into the kitchen and called 911. She put the phone on speaker and started describing the men, who ran out and drove away.
"The police took my name and number and said, 'If they come back, call us.' These are drug dealers. If they come back – I'm afraid," she said, sobbing. "I know they're going to hurt me. What am I supposed to do?"
After the men left her house Tuesday, she got a call from her 17-year-old son's best friend. The friend described two men who'd showed up at Lincoln High School and choked him, demanding their money.
On Wednesday night, Ms. Roy said her house was being watched by three men sitting in a car outside. That's when she sent her sons to a relative for safekeeping.
Ms. Roy said her youngest son was offered money by neighborhood kids Sunday but insists he never took it. Her older son, she said, didn't know about the money until he found out that the men barged into their home Tuesday.
Ms. Roy gave the intruders' license plate number to the police. She's afraid they'll come back.
"I know these people are serious. If they come back, these drug dealers, they're not coming back to have a cup of coffee," she said.
KaJuana Junior, another parent, said her 12-year-old daughter and other students were each offered $200 by a classmate. She said her daughter didn't take the cash.
Sgt. Gil Cerda, a Dallas Police Department spokesman, said that an investigation is under way and that students are being interviewed.
Safety concerns prompted authorities to beef up security at J.J. Rhoads Learning Center on Wednesday. Access to the school was restricted for about an hour as school district police patrolled the campus. The unusual security created an atmosphere of confusion at the school Wednesday afternoon, when children typically are released.
Some parents, including Jackie Austin, said they received phone calls telling them to pick up their children.
"They never did tell me what's going on," Ms. Austin said after retrieving her son.
When parents arrived, access to the building was limited.
"This is outrageous," one man said as he left the school with his young son.
Mr. Claxton said he could not comment on the specific nature of the potential threat to the school and its students. For now, he said, extra security will be stationed at the school.
Ms. Junior, whose daughter was among the students offered cash, doesn't plan to bring her children back to the school until the matter is cleared up.
"It's scary," she said. "We don't know what's going on."
Mr. Claxton said the district plans to send letters home with students to explain what has happened.
"We hope parents will be very understanding," he said.
Aimee Bolender, president of the teacher's group Alliance AFT, said teachers at the school are concerned that whoever is behind the threats could resort to a drive-by shooting. Some teachers, she said, were debating whether to come to work today.
"They need evidence that they will be protected," she said. "They are very, very fearful ... for themselves and their students."
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...s/stories/012705dnmetfoundmoney.48e025d1.html
Well, the kids should be safe. After all, isn't it illegal to bring a gun to a school?
