24 Arrested in Kearny High Drug Investigation

Twenty-four people, most of them students from Kearny High School, were arrested Tuesday after a five-month investigation revealed that students were involved in drug trafficking, San Diego police said.

A female undercover officer from the Narcotics Division and other detectives had made 52 buys from the students since September. The operation began in response to complaints by parents, neighbors and other students about drug dealings near and on campus, according to Lt. Skip DiCerchio. One adult also was arrested Tuesday and five other people were being sought.

E.H. Frank, principal of the school, said the superintendent’s office of the San Diego Unified School District notified him Monday that the arrests would take place Tuesday. He said he was previously unaware of the investigation.

Frank said a school counselor was assigned to accompany targeted students to the auditorium, where detectives were waiting.

DiCerchio said, “We went on campus and left campus before anyone even knew that we were there. It was simply a roundup. It was quite mellow.”

During the operation, police also seized small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, LSD and methamphetamines.

A search warrant was served at a home in the 2200 block of Comstock Street, where police arrested 35-year-old Christina Consuelo Skidmore on suspicion of selling LSD, police said. DiCerchio said Skidmore allegedly was supplying drug dealers at the high school.

Although police said they did not confiscate any drugs at the home, a transaction ledger was recovered.

Detectives also executed a search warrant in the 2000 block of Cardinal Drive and arrested a 17-year-old Kearny High student for investigation of possession of drugs for sale. Police also seized 24 plastic bags containing what were believed to be methamphetamines at the teen-ager’s home. He was later released to his mother.

Police also arrested four students who attended the Twain Independent Learning Center and another student who attended classes at the O’Farrell School of Creative and Performing Arts, DiCerchio said. Thirteen students were arrested at the high school and the rest at their homes or local hangouts, the lieutenant added.

The transactions allegedly took place on school grounds, at nearby hangouts and at the homes that police raided, DiCerchio said. The school is near Linda Vista Road and Mesa College Drive.

Police have uncovered drug operations during the last three years at 10 different San Diego County high schools.

The crackdown “appears to be working,” DiCerchio said. “We’re steadily going down (in the number of arrests). We’re finding it harder and harder to buy drugs on campus.”

Detectives said anti-drug educational programs also had contributed to the drop in arrests. Early in the high-school crackdowns, police arrested 73 people for involvement in narcotics operations at Patrick Henry High School, and 53 others at Hoover High.