Students busted for dealing drugs

HOBBS, N.M. (KRQE) - Four kids are facing felony charges for what they were selling out of Skittles wrappers at their middle school.

Hobbs police said students were peddling powerful prescription drugs, and one kid who bought them had no idea of the consequences until he ended up in the hospital.

Teachers and police at Houston Middle School in Hobbs were on alert Friday after a parent came forward with some startling information.

"One parent took her kid to the hospital and she came back to the school and told the teacher that her kid had taken some white pills and bought them from a kid here at the school," Hobbs school resource officer Donald Jackson said.

After investigating, officers found the evidence: prescription Ambien sleeping pills that some students were hiding in small Skittles candy bags and selling for four and five dollars.

Officers credit parents and kids for letting them know what was going on, before something worse happened. "The worse case scenario is somebody dying from taking something that nobody knows anything about," Jackson explained.

One kid told police he was told the pill was for relaxing; other than that he knew nothing about the drug, and was nearly unconscious when his mother took him to the hospital.

But police said the students selling the pills didn't get them from their parents.

"No, their parents were not prescribed that type of medication," Jackson said. "It just shows that the kids can get this stuff off the street anywhere; people don't care about kids being 12, 13 or 14 years old."

Now that authorities are aware of this, they're using every resource to catch further drug dealing, including kids handing over pills in the hallway.

"The security surveillance cameras around the school is really good, and it picks up pretty much everything," Jackson said. "We have cameras all over the place."

Officer Jackson is the resource officer for Houston Middle School, and he wants parents to know he takes his job very seriously.

"Once these kids are at school they're considered my kids, and I want to do whatever I can to protect them," Jackson said.

Three of the students selling the drugs are 14 years old, the other is 13. All four students are facing second and fourth degree drug felony charges.

The three kids who took the pills are not facing criminal charges, but the school resource officer said there will be consequences in school for them for possessing drugs on school property.