Policeman posed as student for eight months to arrest smalltime student drugs takers
ALEX Salinas was a 22-year-old policeman when he re-enrolled at High School. He became Johnny Ramirez, a student at a school in Exeter, a small town near Fresno in California. For eight months he studied. And then he pounced, arresting a dozen students on drugs charges.
Said Officer Salinas:
“A lot of jaws dropped when they saw me. They knew me as that kid at school that they hung around with, and then the next thing they’re in handcuffs and I’m in a uniform.”
Salinas had scored small amounts of cannabis, cocaine, hydrocodone and Soma.
Local Police Chief Cliff Bush sys the sting would “send a message”. What message he does not specify, but one about grown men posing as children to score small amounts of contraband and prescription muscle relaxants might be less than the mark he was aiming at.
Says Salinas:
“There were a few students I got to know who are good kids, and I did feel kind of bad for being their friend and then being something different,”
Oddly, the sting occurred at the same time 21 Jump Street was hitting the silver screen. The film is about two undercover cops fighting crime at a high school.
Says Chief Bush:
“A day or two later I became aware of the movie. The last thing I would do is check movie premieres. This just happened to coincide with the movie’s release.”
No need when you can get Jennifer to ask her classmates and report back…
Posted: 28th, March 2012 | In: Reviews Comments (2) | TrackBack | Permalink
