Drug arrests not related to Carson High pot find

Recent arrests of six area students are unrelated to last week's marijuana find at Carson High School, according to the Carson City Sheriff's Department.

"They are not intertwined and they don't go back to the same source and supply," said Chief Deputy Scott Burau. "They simply aren't related."

On March 12, a routine search of Carson High School with a drug sniffing dog uncovered nearly an ounce of marijuana packaged for sale in the Jim Randolph High Tech Center.

Two female students were charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell. The following morning, with information from that investigation, a teenage boy was arrested at his home for possession of paraphernalia.

Also arrested March 12, in unrelated cases, were two Eagle Valley Middle School students and another Carson High teen for possession of marijuana.

Since then, deputies have taken into custody six other teens on charges from possession of marijuana to trafficking methamphetamine.

Not all of the arrests were made on school grounds. At least two, including the methamphetamine-related charge, were made away from school, said Sheila Banister, chief juvenile probation officer for Carson City.

"There was no big drug ring just busted," she said.

Burau said although the subsequent arrests are not connected to the marijuana find in the tech center, that discovery didn't hurt efforts.

"Our presence and awareness from the (Tech Center) find has made this easier on us. The students now seem quick to point out who needs to be checked out," Burau said.

"But this is not a cartel. We have a number of conduits out in the community by which these kids can obtain drugs and we are taking a hard look at each and everyone of those avenues right now."

He said his department doesn't anticipate further arrests, but expects them.

"We are not so naive as to think we've gotten all of the drugs out of the high school. So yes, there will be more arrests, but that doesn't mean they are in any way related (to the tech center find)," Burau said. "We are going to turn up the heat. We are going to be in the schools more. We are going to make more random searches."

Breakout:

Unrelated juvenile drug arrests in the past week in Carson City

-- March 12 -- two students, ages 13 and 14, were arrested for possession of marijuana at Eagle Valley Middle School.

-- March 12 -- two students, both 15 years old, were arrested at Carson High School for possession of marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to sell in connection with 26 grams found hidden in a paper-towel dispenser in the Jim Randolph High Tech Center.

-- March 12 -- a 15-year-old was arrested at Carson High School after a drug sniffing dog found marijuana in his coat.

-- March 13 -- with information from the Tech Center find, deputies arrested a 15-year-old boy at his home for possession of paraphernalia.

-- March 14 -- two separate students at different times were found to be in possession of marijuana at Carson High School. One was charged with possession and the other with possession with intent to sell.

-- March 15 -- a student was arrested for possession of marijuana at Carson High School.

-- March 15 -- a 16-year-old was arrested at Saliman Road and Highway 50 East for trafficking methamphetamine

-- March 19 -- a teenager was arrested on Fifth Street for possession of marijuana.