manwiththedogs
02-04-2005, 01:08 PM
They find it in her truck at drop-off spot: Ferndale High
February 4, 2005
BY FRANK WITSIL and LORI HIGGINS
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
There were many things that Sheila Black could have done, police said, when her 16-year-old son who was strung out on heroin over the weekend called and issued an ultimatum: Bring drugs or he would commit suicide.
What she decided, police said Thursday, could send her to prison for 20 years.
Police said Black, 41, of Metamora drove to Detroit on Monday, where her son told her she could buy drugs. She drove slowly down a street off Van Dyke, just as he instructed, police said. She waited for someone to come to her car, asked for "dog food" and paid $100 for 10 bags of heroin, police said.
Then, police said, she drove with a syringe full of drugs to Ferndale High School, where her son was waiting, according to their plan, in the parking lot during lunch to pluck the drugs out of her pocket while she gave him a big hug.
But, she reconsidered.
"She didn't give him the stuff," said Ferndale Police Lt. Norm Raymond.
Raymond said she left the drugs in her truck, hugged her son and told him she would get him into drug rehabilitation.
School officials said the teen's father tipped off police about the drug run. They arrested Black after peering into her truck Monday while she was at the school. They saw the white handle of a hypodermic syringe poking out of the end of one of mother's gloves that was lying in the truck.
"I just cannot understand why a mother would do that," Raymond said.
The teen was not charged. The Free Press is withholding his name because he is a juvenile.
The boy's father could not be reached for comment. His name also is being withheld because it would reveal the teen's identity.
Police also found a prescription bottle filled with a liquid, a plastic spoon, a razor blade and 10 packs of heroin in her red Ford F-150, the police report said. Police noted in the report that Black spoke with "slurred speech," was "twitching" and "possibly was under the influence of drugs."
She was arraigned Wednesday in 43rd District Court and charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute. She is being held in the Oakland County Jail with bond set at $5,000. Her preliminary exam is set for 1 p.m. Feb. 10.
If convicted, Black could be sentenced to 20 years. Prosecutors plan to petition an Oakland County Circuit Court judge today to suspend Black's parental rights.
"It's shocking," Oakland County Prosecutor Deborah Carley said of the allegations against Black.
The number of teens who say they have used heroin is declining after heroin use peaked in the late 1990s, according to "Monitoring the Future," a national study that examined youths' behavior and was released in December. But local experts say there is much anecdotal evidence, including this case, to show that heroin use is rising -- particularly in the past year and a half.
"We are seeing an increase in heroin use," said Susan Hiltz, executive director of the Prevention Coalition of Southeast Michigan, a Southfield-based group that promotes prevention of alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse. "There's a misperception by young people that it's a low-risk drug. A lot of kids are snorting it, as they did with cocaine in the '80s."
Hiltz said Black was "probably trying to be a good parent, but she wasn't doing the right thing."
Parents need to be educated on how to help a child who has a drug problem, she said. In this situation, both the mother and son needed help, Hiltz said.
"But they apparently weren't getting it," she added.
Dr. Mark Menestrina, an addiction expert at Brighton Hospital, said heroin and other opiate drugs are "very easy to get, in a school and social setting." The heroin teens are using today is purer -- and more potent -- than what they were using in the past, Menestrina said.
In this case, Carley said, it is clear that the Ferndale High School student had a problem with the drug.
She said police found a container of urine in his backpack that he planned to use if drug-tested.
Carley said the teen's parents are divorced. The boy lives with his father in Ferndale; a judge barred Black from having unsupervised contact with her son, Carley said.
Court records from Lapeer County, where the teen had lived with his mother until recently, show that he was arrested about a year ago for breaking and entering.
During an investigation, the court also learned that he had a substance abuse problem, Lapeer County Circuit Court Administrator Lori Curtiss said. The teen was placed in the Intensive Drug Track Program in Lapeer County about six months ago. The program required the teen to submit to drug testing at least three times a week and regularly report to court.
Stephanie Hall, a spokeswoman for Ferndale Public Schools, said the teen enrolled at the school in the last few weeks and is not facing disciplinary action, but school counselors and teachers "are going to work with this young man to make sure he receives the assistance he needs at this time."
February 4, 2005
BY FRANK WITSIL and LORI HIGGINS
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
There were many things that Sheila Black could have done, police said, when her 16-year-old son who was strung out on heroin over the weekend called and issued an ultimatum: Bring drugs or he would commit suicide.
What she decided, police said Thursday, could send her to prison for 20 years.
Police said Black, 41, of Metamora drove to Detroit on Monday, where her son told her she could buy drugs. She drove slowly down a street off Van Dyke, just as he instructed, police said. She waited for someone to come to her car, asked for "dog food" and paid $100 for 10 bags of heroin, police said.
Then, police said, she drove with a syringe full of drugs to Ferndale High School, where her son was waiting, according to their plan, in the parking lot during lunch to pluck the drugs out of her pocket while she gave him a big hug.
But, she reconsidered.
"She didn't give him the stuff," said Ferndale Police Lt. Norm Raymond.
Raymond said she left the drugs in her truck, hugged her son and told him she would get him into drug rehabilitation.
School officials said the teen's father tipped off police about the drug run. They arrested Black after peering into her truck Monday while she was at the school. They saw the white handle of a hypodermic syringe poking out of the end of one of mother's gloves that was lying in the truck.
"I just cannot understand why a mother would do that," Raymond said.
The teen was not charged. The Free Press is withholding his name because he is a juvenile.
The boy's father could not be reached for comment. His name also is being withheld because it would reveal the teen's identity.
Police also found a prescription bottle filled with a liquid, a plastic spoon, a razor blade and 10 packs of heroin in her red Ford F-150, the police report said. Police noted in the report that Black spoke with "slurred speech," was "twitching" and "possibly was under the influence of drugs."
She was arraigned Wednesday in 43rd District Court and charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute. She is being held in the Oakland County Jail with bond set at $5,000. Her preliminary exam is set for 1 p.m. Feb. 10.
If convicted, Black could be sentenced to 20 years. Prosecutors plan to petition an Oakland County Circuit Court judge today to suspend Black's parental rights.
"It's shocking," Oakland County Prosecutor Deborah Carley said of the allegations against Black.
The number of teens who say they have used heroin is declining after heroin use peaked in the late 1990s, according to "Monitoring the Future," a national study that examined youths' behavior and was released in December. But local experts say there is much anecdotal evidence, including this case, to show that heroin use is rising -- particularly in the past year and a half.
"We are seeing an increase in heroin use," said Susan Hiltz, executive director of the Prevention Coalition of Southeast Michigan, a Southfield-based group that promotes prevention of alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse. "There's a misperception by young people that it's a low-risk drug. A lot of kids are snorting it, as they did with cocaine in the '80s."
Hiltz said Black was "probably trying to be a good parent, but she wasn't doing the right thing."
Parents need to be educated on how to help a child who has a drug problem, she said. In this situation, both the mother and son needed help, Hiltz said.
"But they apparently weren't getting it," she added.
Dr. Mark Menestrina, an addiction expert at Brighton Hospital, said heroin and other opiate drugs are "very easy to get, in a school and social setting." The heroin teens are using today is purer -- and more potent -- than what they were using in the past, Menestrina said.
In this case, Carley said, it is clear that the Ferndale High School student had a problem with the drug.
She said police found a container of urine in his backpack that he planned to use if drug-tested.
Carley said the teen's parents are divorced. The boy lives with his father in Ferndale; a judge barred Black from having unsupervised contact with her son, Carley said.
Court records from Lapeer County, where the teen had lived with his mother until recently, show that he was arrested about a year ago for breaking and entering.
During an investigation, the court also learned that he had a substance abuse problem, Lapeer County Circuit Court Administrator Lori Curtiss said. The teen was placed in the Intensive Drug Track Program in Lapeer County about six months ago. The program required the teen to submit to drug testing at least three times a week and regularly report to court.
Stephanie Hall, a spokeswoman for Ferndale Public Schools, said the teen enrolled at the school in the last few weeks and is not facing disciplinary action, but school counselors and teachers "are going to work with this young man to make sure he receives the assistance he needs at this time."