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Subscribe to RSSDrug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents are accused of accidentally leaving a 24-year-old suspect in a holding cell for five days without food or water. KNTV's Tony Shin reports.
A San Diego college student detained for several days in a county detention facility cell is seeking an attorney and may be considering filing a civil lawsuit, sources tell NBCSanDiego.
The 24-year old UCSD engineering student was left in the cell for five days without food or water, seemingly forgotten by the federal authorities who detained him.
He was one of seven people detained after a Drug Enforcement Administration ecstasy raid in University City on April 21, according to a DEA statement.
See video, read the original report at NBCSanDiego.com
"The individual was at the house by his own admission," the DEA confirmed Monday.
During the raid, authorities said, they confiscated ecstasy, marijuana, prescription medication, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and a white powdery substance that was described as a synthetic hallucinogen. They said they also seized numerous weapons, including a Russian rifle, handguns and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
"Seven suspects were brought back to county detention." One was released, but "accidentally left in one of the cells," a statement from the DEA read.
The defendants were brought back to the DEA office after the raid and processed. The suspects were moved around the five cells at the detention facility during the proceeding. None were strip or body cavity searched, the DEA stated.
A law enforcement source told NBC 7 that the student was handcuffed and held in a room no larger than the average bathroom.
Sources say a worker at the DEA discovered the man by chance about five days later after hearing strange noises coming from the holding cells.
When authorities with the DEA discovered that the student was still in the cell, they immediately called emergency medical services. UTSanDiego.com reported that San Diego fire officials said paramedics were called April 25.
In the cell, the detainee told authorities he found a white powdery substance, which he took, the DEA statement said.
Later testing revealed the substance was methamphetamine.
Sources close to the student say he nearly died of kidney failure in Sharp hospital due to the dehydration he experienced. He was treated for several days and released.
He is not currently under arrest, authorities with the DEA said.
San Diego defense attorney Gretchen Von Helms says the victim could get millions if he files a lawsuit.
"In all my years of practice I've never heard of the DEA or any federal government employee simply forgetting about someone that they have in their care," she said.
"There has to be repercussions if people do not follow the safety and the care when they have a human being in their custody."
Former federal prosecutor John Kirby said he’s familiar with the holding cells at the DEA office. He told NBC 7 San Diego that the rooms have no bathrooms and the suspect likely went without food or water.
Given his familiarity with the DEA, Kirby said this incident is “inconceivable” because every detainee is processed, and it would be hard to get lost in the shuffle.
“You talk about whether they might have done it intentionally. No way, because somebody's career is done over this,” added Kirby.
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This is just what we need, to pay off a drug dealer(user) because of negligence.
Where does it say he was the dealer? All it said is he admitted to being at the house.
You should be shackled and left in a closet for several days ... especially if you ever drove while intoxicated.
Granted, this kid is obviously bad news and in the drug scene but practically killing him because the DEA "forgot" about him is ridiculous. He had drugs on him, that's it..... I don't have sympathy for him, but I don't think he deserved what happened to him.
Judgmental at all people? Never said that it was okay he was left there. I'm thankful he was found but because of someone's negligence, the tax payers get to fork over a ton of money that we shouldn't have to. If he wasn't a user or dealer why was he in the house?
Yes this is going to end up being some major BS. Darrel you can try to play defense atty all you want. Even if this kid was "just stopping by", he obviously is part of the crew because they let him in. He isn't some poor kid in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hopefully you aren't that naive.
Now, like stated above, the DEA is going to end up setting this kid up for life.
Yep... that will stop all the drug flow and life will be just perfect.... <sarcasm off>
Whilst I think the little @!$%# should be imprisoned for drug use (even while in the cell!) this is totally unacceptable.
And so it should be
Blake,
How is this kid bad news? Nowhere in the story does it say that those were his drugs or that that was even his apartment.
The fact that they "forgot" about him, should tell you that he wasn't even the "person of interest".
And what a shock: a college student that likes to get high. If they treated every college kid like they did this one, 2/3 of the campuses in the US would be empty. Really dude, rethink your archaic views on drugs. I know many high IQ individuals who enjoy getting high. Being that this guy was an engineering student at UC (a very difficult program to get into), I would be willing to bet he is in that category.
Just 'cause they get high doesn't automatically mean they are "bad news".
Casualty of the "war on drugs"? When is that policy going to be revisited by congress? None of them have the balls to revisit that nonsense. All it does is funnel money, guns and the drug trade its supposed to stomp on to the outlaws. Plus the punishment dealt out causes more harm than the drug use. Yes, the DEA should be sued, maybe that would get a message through to our elected leaders.
Millions? We can't get our own insurance to cover us if we've been drinking and this guy gets millions? This F'n lawyer is hoping he will call her so she can collect from his stupidity. An F'n DRUG DEALER? How many drug dealer do you know that eat properly in the first place and I would suspect he was dehydrated from withdraws, not lack of water.
Detention cells should NEVER be unsupervised, EVER. In 20 years of law enforcement I never worked anywhere or went anywhere where detainees were held in unsupervised cells. There should be multiple punishments here, first to those who actually left him and second to those who developed procedures that allowed this to happen.
The Government is here to protect us, especially from ourselves. That poor man was going to choke on his water and food, he needed to be protected from choking himself on water and food. No food for him. Yay government! Protect us from ourselves, keep us from killing ourselves, better yet, just kill us so we don't kill ourselves.
I am appalled that people think it is justified to nearly kill a person because he used a drug at a party that got busted. This is strong evidence that the War on Drugs is political and destructive to the social fabric of America. Really, this kid was tortured and all you can do is attack him for getting high? Shameful.
I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for this guy, but this is just another f-up by the DEA...
This "War on Drugs" has done nothing but drain trillion of tax-payer funds. I don't use drugs, but if we tax and regulate the stuff we will have way more control of the situation. The dumbest thing of all is to lock up people caught smoking pot??? lmao
He is a college student, experiments with drugs, if he has a rich daddy he should be our next president, and should get two terms like GWB or Bill Clinton both of those two "remarkable" men experimented with drugs while in school. Outrage over drug use is a freaking joke, so stop it people, just look at the leaders and role models lol. As far as the DEA is concerned they should be torn a new one over this. More than just one career should come to an end over this, in fact their should be jail time for these people as well.
@JM-1992894 You asked me how is the kid bad news? You can't figure this out on your own???? Well I will enlighten you with part of the article again...
Julie's comment is absolutely correct. Negligence by someone at the DEA could cost taxpayers millions. The guys was also hanging out with some pretty bad people so if he wasn't a drug dealer he is partly responsible for the situation he put himself in. It's one thing to be caught with the drugs, it's another to be caught with the drugs and a small arsenal.
Too many public officials that carry a gun and hand cuffs are not responsible enough for the power and authority they are given.
ha , some more of your Holder/Obama justice department , yes "feds" means them , their ineptitude and contempt for federal law are very apparent and well documented , I hope he gets re-elected so we can laugh at more of Barry's baffoonery and Holders racist guided decisions
"You talk about whether they might have done it intentionally. No way, because somebody's career is done over this," added Kirby.
and yet just a cpl days ago a dentist ripped the teeth out of her ex's mouth , no thought about losing her job.
and likely whomever will get a simple slap on the wrist and the go ahead to continue ruining the lives of others and blaming it on drugs.
One for the good guys. How is that war on drugs working out?
Wow Blake -- he admitted he was at the house ... not that he knew everything that was in it!
Do you know everything that's in every house YOU visit?
Okay, something stinks! The guy they left for 5 days had already been released??????? WTF!
Does that mean they found NO CAUSE to detain him?
But, to justify their incompetence the authorities just happens to state in the interview that there had been no cavity searches, and oh my, looky over here, white powder found in the cell with this big bad drugie guy we left here for 5 days....that we already let go.
Seriously???? Yeah, it's called seriously covering their butts...
While I don't for one second believe that this "kid" is lily-white innocent, I was in a scenario myself many years ago that forces me to admit it MAY (I repeat, MAY) be possible.
First of all, I have never used any drugs. Many years ago, I hosted a pay-per-view Tyson fight party at my house for co-worker friends. Since friends brought friends, there were a few there that I didn't really know that well. One pair asked if they could use my phone to call their girlfriends. (This was before cell phones) The phone was in the kitchen which was remote from the living room. I DID notice during the fight that these two were still in the kitchen, but I thought nothing of it except that they were stupid for missing the fight. My house had a front door, a rear slider from the dining room, and a side door from the kitchen. I found out the next Monday at work, from my closest friends, that those two had spent the evening calling buyers to my house, and selling drugs to them out the side door.
I knew absolutely nothing about it while it was happening. What truly pissed me off was that, because it was happening in MY house even though I was not involved, if they had accidentally attracted the attention of a narc, I would have lost EVERYTHING to asset forfeiture, my house, my belongings, my cars, etc. and I would have had a nearly impossible task in proving my innocence. Of course, I didn't have weapons and thousands of rounds of ammo, but there obviously WERE various drugs there that I was unaware of since nobody was using any (only selling), so I have to say that a person COULD be an innocent simply caught up in a bad situation. But like I said, since this "kid" we KNOW was a user, I'm pretty sure he was not an innocent. Still, he did not deserve what happened to him while in custody.
Good job DEA. Way to go taking down those violent ectasy using thugs. Nice unintended torture of one of your prisoners also.
When will the US wake up and realize that YOU are the bad guys?
Yes...you are confussed! First of all, the article did not say this kid was a F'n DRUG DEALER...that's your confused assumption. Second, nowhere in the article did it suggest he was in withdrawals...another confused assumption. Third; five days without water IS DEHYDRATION! No, your comments aren't confused...they're ignorant!
"When they show you who they are...believe them!"
Oh enlightened one, so where in the excerpt you quoted does it say that those were his drugs? Or that those were his guns? Or that that was his house at all?
He admitted BEING at the house when it got raided. He was then RELEASED, meaning they probabaly did not have anything on the kid. Sounds to me like they ASSUMED he had gone home, but some asswipe forgot to tell the other asswipe to open the cell. Five days later he is nearly dead from lack of water.
The human body can live without food for several weeks, but only about 3 days without water. I hope he sues the crap out of the DEA and wins.
@Beth-440386- Yes, I do know what is at houses I visit. Because I don't hang with bad people or ones that do drugs. How dumb are you people??? Drug and bad news people come hand in hand. Especially when your hanging out at a house that has 10 different kinds of drugs and enough weapons to create a small backyeard war. Get real people!
The DEA needs to get a better definition of 'released'. And for everyone hating on him, the DEA intended to release him immediately, meaning he wasn't material to the case.
He's lucky to be alive after 5 days without water.
Blake -- aside from the fact you need to resort to name calling (which really shows your lack of ability to make a point), all I can do is laugh at you!
I highly suspect you do NOT know what is at every house you visit ... unless you poke in people's closets, basements, etc. But then again, maybe you ARE a medicine chest peeper! Somehow that would not surprise me.
People have secrets. Many people ... many secrets. And sometimes, the secrets aren't "bad" .. they are just none of YOUR business.
There are hundreds of cases brought to light each year were perfectly "normal" neighbors were harboring all sorts of secrets, yet no one suspected.
But really, you are making a straw man argument anyway. Because the REAL issue is the guy left with no food or water.
What is more incompetent: DEA forgetting for 5 days about a guy they just arrested, or a college student being at the wrong place at the wrong time? The DEA morons responsible should be forced to pay this guy's settlement money out of their own pocket... but most likely they will not even lose their job. The culture of incompetence in our government is stunning.
Yeah, it used to be that way with alcohol too. Prohibition has a way of lumping the good and bad together. That's why it was repealed for alcohol. What do you suppose the problem is in realising the "drug war" is yet another failed attempt to cast all people who use them as bad-even the good ones? That's right, I said it out loud. Not all people who use drugs are bad.
Or, do you believe that anyone that takes a sip of beer or wine is a "bad" person too? That was the propaganda of the 20s and 30s.
Sounds to me like the "judgement propaganda" has worked very well on you.
Great "Etch-a Sketch" moment there Jules...
Hanging out with some pretty bad people may be stupid but it is not a capital crime. This kid could have died as a result of the negligence of the DEA a division of the Department of Injustice.
the real shocker is this; he was not even booked, therefore no magistrate could hold a 72 hour hearing , or set bond; in plain words he could have just disappeared from the world, if he had died no one would even know he was arrested, just another body found on the street.
Do you think the Feds just got high and spaced the prisoner out? I mean hell, stoners forget things and expect a pass, can't the Feds do the same?
I can just see the Feds now..."Hey man, that was some good @!$%#, let's go get some munchies." 5 days later...."Dude...I keep getting this strange feeling that I am forgetting something." "Shut up man and pass the bowl."
I have to just laugh at people like Blake. They just don't have a clue.
HAHAHAHA. "Bad people". What are you, 5? My parents say this exact same thing and have the same misguided, archaic views on drugs--thinking anyone who's ever been high is a deadbeat criminal. Each year they come to visit, and we go to a friend's for a BBQ. Everyone has a lovely time and my parents adore my friends, and for weeks after each visit won't stop raving about them.
Little do they know that my friends use marijuana on nearly a daily basis--not even for any medical purpose--simply to relax and enjoy themselves, as one would with a glass or two of wine. They're high functioning, they're successful and have great jobs. Not once had any of them ever had any trouble with the law. My parents don't have the slightest clue--because all their knowledge is based off ignorant stereotypes and Drug War hype.
After I graduated college and entered the workforce, I discovered that almost half the people I work with at any given company use some type of recreational drug. Blake, you're a fool if you think you don't consort with "bad people". You just don't know it because they choose not to tell you--obviously sensing your ignorance and judgment--because they don't want to hear your mindless drivel.
@Jules:
"If he wasn't a criminal, why was he there?" That's what a "trial by jury" is all about. Do you believe in trials by jury? Or is the word of a cop good enough to keep someone behind bars?
In the same breath, you imply that the government should get a free pass when it commits a crime against a citizen. What reason, then, would the government have not to repeat the crime?
Does any of this make sense to you? Probably not, but hey, I tried.
@Shandril:
At what time it I imply that the DEA should get a free pass on this? I stated the due to someones negligence the taxes payers will end up spending a fortune to this student that was in a home that was being busted for illegal drugs. I think he was a drug user or pusher (doesn't really matter which) I think before you reply to me anything more, you should actually read what I wrote, that way you can reply correctly.
I stated in my comment above that I have never even tried any drugs. The reason is that I'm not stupid anymore.
I started smoking when I was 12 (peer pressure, the same as with drugs I suspect) My parents smoked, so it was a long time before they caught me. When they did (at about 15) they told me that it was the worst thing I could do. This was back in the 60s when smoking was glamorized. I said "but you do it!" They said yes, because it's addictive and hard to stop, but it destroys you. I could not comprehend addiction (nobody can unless they've been addicted to something). But I was Superman...I enjoyed smoking, but if I ever found that it was hurting me, I'd just stop. Yeah, right!!! By the time I realized that cigarettes were the reason that I was coughing, had no stamina or couldn't play and run with my dog anymore, it was too late. I was addicted. I tried countless times, but I wasn't able to quit until I was 37. And the only reason I was able to then was my second hand smoke had put my asthmatic wife in the hospital with a blood-oxygen level so low she should have died. The only thing more powerful than my addiction was how much I loved my wife. When I left her hospital room, I never smoked another cigarette (1987).
Drugs weren't down to high schools in my day, they were in colleges. We had cigarettes and booze. I never drank to get drunk, because my real father (divorced when I was 9 and old enough to see what happened) was an alcoholic who ruined his own life and destroyed his family. I tried alcohol, but I must have had a psychological block against getting drunk...never been drunk, can't see any sense in that.
As far as drugs, I wasn't around them until I was old enough to learn from OTHER PEOPLE'S mistakes. What sane person can look around and see how a heroin or crack addict ends up and still decide to try it? I'm no longer stupid enough to think I'm Superman and I'll never get addicted and end up that way. For anyone who says, "But it's MY life, it's none of your business and I'm not hurting you!" you're even more stupid, or ignorant, or both. Look around...how much crime is influenced by drugs, or the need for money to BUY drugs? Even if they were legalized, they'll still be expensive, and they would still addict you. So first you become addicted (oh yes, I know, that will never happen to YOU. Been there, believed that, once upon a time), then you lose your job, but you still need money for that addiction even more than food. Where you going to get it once you've pawned everything you own? You rob....me. And maybe, in the course of robbing me, you kill me, or my loved ones. Tell me again how your drug addiction doesn't affect me. Like I said, I learn from the mistakes of others. I don't want to end up like them, and I'm no longer stupid enough to actually think I won't.
Just an observation.
What is it with the people who said they have no sympathy for this guy? Even if he was guilty of all of the violations found at the house, I still wouldn't condone pushing him to the brink of death! A solid argument could be made to stop the War on Drugs just from the ignorant vindictiveness of the authoritarian types who appear to condone torture/starvation/death penalty for drug crimes.
I want to hear Blake-2644321 say that he thinks the War of Drugs can be won, so we can all point and laugh.
My, my, aren't there an awful lot of saints posting on MSNBC today? Calling a kid "bad news" and a "drug dealer" just because he happened to be at the house? Really? And I guess all of you saints never did a single stupid thing in high school or college, not one of you sanctimonious, smug and judgemental a$$holes EVER had a couple of drinks and drove, and you've ALL lived a life purer than the driven snow?
And they apparently had NOTHING on him because, as the article states, he was RELEASED. So not only are most of you sanctimonious, judgmental a$$holes - you are STUPID smug & sanctimonious a$$holes who rushed to judgment on this kid just because he was in the house. There's been a lot of that kind of rush to judgment lately (does the Martin/Zimmerman case ring any bells for you idiots?) and it doesn't speak well for the intellectual intelligence of our society as a whole.
Please.
He was released - and than someone managed to forget about the kid and leave him for FIVE F*CKING DAYS WITHOUT FOOD AND WATER.
If that had been any one of you smug a$$holes' kid, you'd be the first ones screaming bloody murder about your precious angel and the outrageous and almost deadly treatment he received at the hands of the DEA.
Someone shouldn't just lose their job over this - people should be facing criminal charges for coming close to causing this young man's death through negligent homicide.
And perhaps to help pay the huge sum this man is going to be awarded by the court - and rightfully so - the court should confiscate all the assets of everyone in the chain of command who was on duty during the time this took place. The taxpayers shouldn't be the only ones on the hook for this gross negligence.
Cigarettes contain drugs... Sodas contain drugs.....Walgreen's contains drugs
Go ahead and preach some more about the horrible effects of "drugs". The largest drug dealers in any given area are the hospitals.
Blake enjoyed his moment maybe.. probably wish he had just kept it inside.
steel toed boot
You wanna make up your mind? Nicotine is a drug.
Sure, the authoritarians are all about accountability until they make a bad decision. Then, it's somebody else's fault, because someone made them do it.
What if, and I'm saying hypothetically, what if there were people who smoked pot and never, ever robbed/stole/burgled or harmed anybody in any such way for their "drug" money? Because those people really exist, and the number's quite large.
Look around...how much crime is influenced by plasma TVs/designer shoes/cars/jewelry/money? Maybe we should just outlaw money. Yeah, that's right, let's outlaw money! Why doesn't Congress and the UN just come to Newsvine for these wonderful ideas to solve the world's problems?
Just an observation.
i like the way you think!!!!!
@ Jules.. The story states he was to be released. It also states that he does not have any pending charges, but yet the DEA instead of releasing him, just forgot about him and went about their business?? That's inexcusable!!! Someone should lose their job over this!!!
@ Blake and all the others who are calling this guy a low-life, criminal drug dealer: I am so glad that so many other people have said exactly what I was thinking. You are an idiot if you think only dead-beats are doing drugs. When I was in high school and college, everyone experimented with drugs (except for maybe a small handful of kids). And we weren't all bad people. None of us killed or robbed anyone, or went to prison. So the fact that he's a college student who was caught at a house that had drugs in it is nothing out of the ordinary and does not make him a bad person or a criminal. What happend to him is outrageous and he absolutely did not deserve to suffer like that.
@ zupercram;
You wanna make up your mind? Nicotine is a drug.
In 1962, how many 12 year olds do you think actually thought of that? Please argue realistically.
peer preasure...things that people do because their friends do it. If the people around you don't do it, you most likely wouldn't either.
What if, and I'm saying hypothetically, what if there were people who smoked pot and never, ever robbed/stole/burgled or harmed anybody in any such way for their "drug" money? Because those people really exist, and the number's quite large.
Did I mention pot? Read it again, I didn't. I am friends with lots of pot smokers, but none of which I would label 'potheads'. Still, they don't bother me and I don't 'lecture' them with my beliefs. I just refuse their offers of a 'hit'. But I stand by what I actually said, anybody who is capable of looking around and seeing what happens to people on the 'hard stuff' and yet goes ahead and does it has got to be braindead. Look at Whitney Huston and countless other celebrities. Losing their lives early, or losing their families or their fortunes and ending up living in a car on the street. You actually think it's worth it? You must already be a druggie if you do (not a pot smoker).
Look around...how much crime is influenced by plasma TVs/designer shoes/cars/jewelry/money? Maybe we should just outlaw money. Yeah, that's right, let's outlaw money! Why doesn't Congress and the UN just come to Newsvine for these wonderful ideas to solve the world's problems?
Too ridiculous to answer seriously. Crime IS caused by money....the taking/making of it unlawfully. Don't make yourself sound ridiculous stretching so far to try to make a point or refute a point.
I-N-T-R-O-D-U-C-I-N-G !!! The next Multi-millionaire!!! America, I love it!!!!
Hope you get to feeling better, kid! Oh, and lay off those drugs, bad for you.
steel toed boot - I don't exist solely in the mind of a 12 year old in 1962. Here in reality, you cannot make the assertion that you've never tried drugs. How's that for realistic?
Exactly, you never made the distinction in the original post.
I was simply applying the same logic to money that you had applied to drugs i.e. outlaw drugs since they cause crime/outlaw money since it causes crime. Basically, you can't outlaw stuff just because people want it a lot. It was a tool to demonstrate your faulty logic. It wasn't a stretch at all.
So after all that, let me know your stance on marijuana specifically. Should it be illegal?
Bottom line: federal mandatory minimums for drug offenders exceed the average time served for homicide and rape. That's a travesty of justice.
This fallacy is nothing but fear mongering. The proof is in the results from Vancouver, from England, and from Portugal, where they have decriminalized heroin and found out just the opposite of what you state. Those 3 places found that the infection/death rate from infections and OD's dropped by over 40%, the crime rate dropped by a staggering 70%, and over half of the addicts were able to hold jobs and be somewhat productive members of society. The incarceration rate dropped by over 50%, saving from 30-60k per person per year. The cost of the drugs and the medical help to those who wanted to quit cost about 7k per person per year.
The fact that drugs are illegal is what drives the price up. Saying that it would still be expensive is misleading as the above figures show. Those kind of results definitely deserve to be studied and enacted in some form in this country. The current war on
drugscitizens is a known colossal failure so why not try something else and see if we get better results?Regardless of the reason the kid was at the house when it was busted, he did not deserve the treatment that he received. Anyone complaining about his "windfall" should take that up with their congress crook to get the stupid laws changed. Blaming the victim for any reason, just shows the lack of critical thinking skills that is so prevalent in this country today, along with government/dea inspired hatred/greed, and fear/paranoia of them bad old drugs.
Road head----Oh my a logical thinker....Must be a damn liberal,communist hippie, college snob....Thank you for being not like these others..............
And the percentage of people on here who have never tried drugs seems to not jive with the statistics....I say they are lying.....The Steel toe dude says he never touched a drug out of one side of his mouth and then outta the other says he drank and smoked...Both are drugs(not telling you Roadhead I am sure you are aware)
@Brian . . . . . . . you're not to far off, here in Oregon the police can and do shoot & kill attempted suicide victims. The law states that a police officer has the right to use deadly force against someone who is attempting to physically harm himself. One word of advice, if you are in Oregon by any chance and if a friend or loved one is acting very strange or very drunk DON'T call the police they will kill them at first chance. They will shoot them in the back, they will shoot them if they have a knife to their own throat, they will even shoot them even if they are stark naked, unarmed and dancing on top of their cop car. And the Grand Jury or prosecuting attorney, they won't do a damn thing about it, neither will the legislature.
Drugs wouldn't be expensive, because pretty much all of them are incredibly easy to produce. The reason they are expensive now is because they are illegal, and it drives up the value.
I think those who will try harder drugs, like heroine - meth - etc... wouldn't change much, and maybe even go down. Part of the draw of such drugs are the unlawfulness of them, and why they can be found tied up with other illegal activities such as prostitution and extortion. Legalized, the teeth of such drugs will fall right out - and the criminal element will no longer be able to make a real buck off of it. This will also greatly diminish the presense and hold that hard drugs have on crime infested areas.

I'm pretty sure he means illegal drugs and narcotics abuse. But yes, some of these sanctimonius puritans in here are a real laugh. I wonder what it's like to live such a lilywhite existence and to never have went out and experienced reality away from the compound.
From the story, I admit, it sounds like this guy was caught up with some shady characters. But still, I've known A LOT of shady characters in my lifetime, and most aren't so bad.... although it definitely puts you at a higher risk of getting caught up with the REAL bad guys. It sounds to me though, like this guy was your typical college kid at a party - the amount of hallucinogens indicates to me it was more of a hippy/raver type dig than some hard-drug flop house.... and plenty of college kids visit such places.
By all means, experience has taught me to avoid such places and people because it makes life simpler and safer to do so. But this kid, by no means, deserved what he got. This could be anyone's son or nephew.
Doesn't matter what the crime is. Detainees need to be treated humanely.
Damn right somebody's career should be done over this
It will be a flunky nobody likes that is made the patsy for this...the real decision was made by the dept head and that person is NOT going to suffer no matter how many agents he has to toss under the bus.
A unionized federal employee? Here's a tip - don't hold your breath waiting for this person's career to end.
The worst he'll get is "administrative leave" for a few days and maybe some "remedial training." Which just means he'll have more time to download porn on our dime.
You have no clue what you are talking about. Back to your own porn download...
I just looked up DEA and found no reference to union representation. Also checked National Federation of Federal Employees which does not list DEA as a represented agency. So is your rant from ignorance or another Republican anit-union lie? Just curious.
He was held at a county detention center. Finger pointing between DEA and the county has already begun, and my bet is that San Diego gets to eat the crap sandwich.
Just pay him off in drug money. Don't take it from the tax payers. If there is not enough drug money on hand, he can work for the DEA to find someone else dealing dope and eventually, he will get what is coming to him.
Well, of course, Jules. They should have just left him there until he died. Much simpler. No trial, no cost of incarceration. And best of all, nobody to complain about mistreatment.
I sure hope you're just a troll, because if you're not...
So there's this new thing called the "reply" button at the bottom of comments........
And Mike -- sometimes it's easy to MISS that button if one is "replying" while the comments are still loading.
Nothing better to add to the conversation?
While the comments are still loading ? What are you using a Commodore Vic 20 with dial-up?
Here is another blatant failure from the war on drugs. Only becasue this kid was young did he survive 5 days without water and locked up in a small room. I hope he has the smarts to get an attorney and I hope he collects a substanial amount of money. The DEA will defend themselves with all kinds of foolish statements. Firing them is not enough. The war on drugs is a failure and should be discontinued. When drugs are all legal then the glamour of taking them disappears. Remember prohibition?
He must have been a real, dangerous drug dealer for the DEA to forget about him for 5 days.
And how did the white powder (meth) get in his cell? Supplied by the DEA?
The kid could later be charged for possession since they found him tripping in his cell....depends on how the investigation goes after finding him still there.
He had meth on him even after they were processed. Good one DEA.
He stated that he did the white, powdery substance that he found in the holding cell. Nowhere was it stated that he had drugs "on him" when arrested.
sing
so you buy that?
so you think DEA and leos dont plant drugs on people? go back to the woods, babe.
Sing, the DEA already admitted to not strip searching or doing a body cavity search. If the kid was in there 5 days without anyone being down there with him, and he was tested for drugs in his system AFTER 5 DAYS ALONE, he had drugs on him.
Can't any of you people read? He made the statement while in the cell. He used the white powdery substance while in the house where he was originally detained. Jeez!
He was also handcuffed for five days so even if he brought the drugs in how did he get to them? More likely he was feeling around where he was sitting for anything. " In the cell he told authorities he took a white powdery substance he found" He never said he found it at the house. County needs to do a better sweep of cells.
I'm pretty sure the DEA wouldn't have released a drug dealer. User, perhaps.
On another note, is selling or using drugs really an offense punishable by kidney failure and slow death? Talk about unreasonable. It's pretty victimless. Drug users aren't unwilling participants. They know exactly what they're doing.
Yeah nobody has ever been " Doped " by someone unknowingly.....They only have like ten different terms such as " Slipped a Mickie ".....................
First of all, innocent until proven guilty. Next, no crime constitutes this kind of neglect or abuse. If I were to detain someone and deprive them of food and water for 5 days, I would be charged!!! Why are the agents responsible not charged with neglect?
Exactly, unfortunatly these are DEA agents they are above the law with an expence account thats only outdone by the military. This kid wasn't even charged if he would have been a main player he would've been charged. The DEA will do the pea and shell shuffle with these agents, pay this kid hush money and this whole thing will be forgotten.
Actually this isn't the first incident of neglect. Either AZ or NM lost a prisoner for two weeks on a traffic charge. It was a month or two ago. That one they managed to feed though. How they didn't notice the meal count didn't maqtch the prisoner count I don't know.
Lone reb ----especially since the " Meal count " log is how they get paid at every holding facility.....Meals equal days , equals federal compensation and state compensation......Just ask Wackenhut our wonderful for profit lock-em up profiteers......
The picture painted by the DEA of this person sounds like character assassination, obviously to deflect the public's attention away from the life-threatening mistake made by at least one DEA employee.
You democrats do remember how inhumane you thought the republicans were treating prisoners at Gitmo? They got treated better than this kid.
You're really grasping for straws there, aren't you lonereb? Who says the DEA officials in charge weren't republican? The sure follow staunch conservative policies, so I'd be willing to bet they are--but what does political party even matter?
I'm sure the prisoners at Gitmo would be begging for the chance to be left alone for 5 days, even without food and water. They went longer without, from what I heard, in addition to being tortured. How is that better?
Found in a cell my a$$. sounds like he was so friggin high it took several days to come down. screw him. If he hadn't been breaking the law and doing drugs to begin with he wouldn't have had a problem.
So you're saying he broke in the DEA offices, found their stash, got high, and locked himself in a cell?
try some reading comprehension course's moshuluu
^ This person may still be angry gay marriage is legal in Iowa.
No scooter, it may be you who should heed your advice. He was found in a cell. And let's suppose he was high, does that mean that he locked himself there and refused to let himself out. WTF?
LA Scooter Tramp,
Looks like you are the one that need work on your reading comprehension. " One was released, but "accidentally left in one of the cells," a statement from the DEA read. They were supposed to release him in the first place, which indicates that he was probably innocent to begin with. Bigoted much?
ya...try pulling you own head from butt and work on your own comprehension...kid was not a dealer (show us the court decree saying so...) nor was he a suspect...he had been released...but I guess with your head up your butt you couldn't read that part...that teh kid had been released and was NOT A SUSPECT any longer...
push real hard there skippy...you head is way way way up there...
sing
that's I-A Not L-A ...........and how pray tell am i bigoted?
student
nope don't care one way or the other, but tell me why are YOU so abreast of that particular law?
jm
i was responding to moshu's inserting things i never stated.
cbawl
what kid? 24yo
It doesn't matter what crime he committed, you have to treat people humanely. I don't even care if it was Bin Ladin, you can't leave someone alone in a cell without food and water for that long.
Bin Laden? Really? Pretty simple minded are ya? Ok to shoot him, but by god you better give him food and water.
It was an extreme example, but it was simply to prove a point. And yes, if he was to have been detained and not shot, then I would have expected him to be treated humanely, just like any other prisoner.
Shooting's a much easier way to go than dehydration and starvation. Doesn't matter who they are, if they're being kept in a cell they should at least get some bread and water.
Not giving a prisoner food and water for 5 days is torture in my book. The US isn't supposed to be torturing criminal suspects, even if they are guilty. Not saying this person was guilty....We wouldn't be torturing bin Laden if we had caught him alive.
We have been torturing criminal suspects since this ridiculous "war on terror" started and we continue today through rendition. This has and will more so slowly migrate from just a military thing to a law enforcement tactic IMO as history shows it has. Hell the police have already adopted the use and IMO abuse of military equipment like flash bangs, urban tanks ect..
Yes, everyone should be treated humanely, especially those we feel don't deserve it.
They do use torture tactics in county jail to get you to plea....The reward is the sentenced inmates are no longer tortured and receive privileges such as in cell TV.....So even if you are innocent you may take the plea if you have no evidence to prove you are....Exact opposite of the Constitutional requirements of fair trial and no excessive bail and no cruel and unusual punishment.....I will not go into all of the specific torturing because it varies by local.....But for-profit detaining should be enough to make you believe because we all know what travesties are committed in the name of corporate profits and greed....Unless you live in the bubble of conservative thinking created by News corp...
yep its all on the DEA .........heaven forbid he take ANY sort of responsibility for his own actions that got him there in the first place.
end result ...........more lawyers get richer off the taxpayer.
Hmm.......you are probably partly responsible for why my generation is going to have to pay millions to Muslims who were spied on during the boomers' reign. I don't like having to be responsible for other people's actions, but it looks like I don't get a choice.
Take it from your party's elite: vote for gun rights and a more secure border, but keep your opinions to yourself; you aren't helping us.
sorry there student, i dont belong to any "party". therefor you are "probably" wrong. as for stronger boarders and gun rights yep i am for both. I am not however in favor of censorship as you seam to advocate in keeping ones opinion to ones self.
His actions didn't get him in there , can you read?
they were supposed to release him, so he was in there for what reason?
What actions? At worst he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but apparently he didn't do anything wrong to take responsibility for since, by their own admission, the DEA had already made the decision to release him without any charges before they locked him in the holding cell. More than one career at the DEA should be at an end as a result of this.
He may have been stupid but he did not lock himself in a cell. He did not go on a hunger strike. He was supposed to have been released not left for 5 days without food or water. He is lucky to be alive since you can die after 3 days without water. This was torture. We are supposed to be the good guys remember. This may have been an idoit but he is someones idiot son. What if it was your idiot son?
Reasons, after the fact, are merely excuses. And there is no excuse for this to have happened.
Offer to drop the charges in exchange for a release of liability. Save our tax dollars!
now there's a good idea, but the lawyers would not be making a boatload of money, hence it will never happen.
An idea, yes, but not good for the "kid"; those potential kidney problems can be exacerbated years later.
kid? what kid? 24 YO.
try paying attention next time....THE KID HAD BEEN RELEASED (but locked back up ini that room) AND WAS NEVER CHARGED...HE HAD COMMITTED NO CRIME!
What charges? Does the article not say that he wasn't going to be charged with anything and was going to be released? AND... If that's the case, as much as I'd hate to see the tax payers money pay for this, he should settle for millions. Heck, take it out of the entire DEA department's personel budget/salary. Bottom line, IA and others you are assuming that he's drug-dealing scum. BTW, I would say that many 24 YO students are basically "kids". Next thing you'll be claiming that the DEA's existence is justified? Talking about one of the MOST monumental wastes of taxpayer's money, ever!
what charges?
Too bad there aren't any charges to drop! Maybe you should actually read the story before commenting next time, or is that asking too much?
even if there were charges what is the likely punishment? A misdemeanor usually is punishable by a fine, or by incarceration in a local jail for a period of less than one year. Why would he trade MILLIONS for that punishment?
Not a well thought out idea
What charges? They were supposed to have released him without charges. He was guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that is all the government had on him.
Commonsensesam----Right and even if there were charges I think he would not want to ever be locked in a room again for any amount of money...That kind of treatment damages even the toughest psyche
Agents were probably busy getting high and dealing drugs/guns on the street....LOL
I see there are quite a few "bendovers" posting in favor of law enforcement, it was the kids fault for locking HIMSELF in a room, not the DEA.....LOL
while i would hardly consider myself a "bendover" as bikers and cops don't exactly have a long history of "cooperation" but let me pose this.....
kid? what kid? he was 24 Y.O. !!! by his age i had done two tours in nam , got my discharge and was out in the real world earning a living. Damn i get tired of hearing about these poor "kids".
LOL, scooter
yea, a 24 yo is a kid to some of us. Its not an age thing. no one said he wasnt legally an adult. And I would like to point out that he is a student studing Engineering at a school known for its engineering department. So it seems he IS out in the real world earning his living and education. but keep talking, I like reading your comments then seeing the entire board rip you apart. LOL
Hey scooter tramp this scooter commuter still doesn't think the government was right. If this is the best our government can do at knowing who they have in jail at any given time. They should get out of the business before they actually do kill somebody through negligence. AZ or NM did almost the same thing a few months ago. They lost somebody in the system for two weeks in solitary. The jail staff was on the ball they fed him but never matched meal counts with prisoner records.
Before they kill someone ? I think that number has alot of zeroes behind it....Think about it....
LOL! Who gives a CRACK!
Was that a saying in the 70s or something?
The fine print is that the student was probably acting hysterical and the police were scared to intervene.
Disgusting
"Inconceivable"? It obviously is conceivable, they found the damned kid nearly dead.
Who the hell is this guy? Vizzini from the Princess Bride?
"You keep using that word, I don't think it means what you think it means"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D58LpHBnvsI
Interesting the only way they refer to him is "student". "During the raid, authorities said, they confiscated ecstasy, marijuana, prescription medication, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and a white powdery substance that was described as a synthetic hallucinogen. They said they also seized numerous weapons, including a Russian rifle, handguns and thousands of rounds of ammunition". I could think of a few more labels to put on him to be honest. For now we will go with criminal. Just the guy you want dating your daughter/sister right?
There are a lot of people I wouldn't want to date either my daughter or my sister, but that doesn't mean I want them locked up in a cell for several days without food or water.
gee I wasnt aware they confiscated those things from this particular student that they were supposed to release with no charges.
@BobW
What part of "no charges" do you fail to understand?
He in only a criminal because of the criminality of the drug war. If drugs were legalized and regulated this "kid" wouldn't be in the game.
Im not a criminal but if they raided my house they would find several assault rifles, three 30-06, several shot guns, 13 hand guns, knives and hunting equipment galore and almost ten thousand rounds. So what. I am leagally allowed to have all these things in my home. The guns and ammo bit is used in this story to make you think this was a drug house. It was most likely a student's parents house that was out of town, and the parents owned fire arms.
Midnight toker no charges means not a criminal. Just a dumb idiot hanging out where he shouldn't be maybe five minutes later he would have been in possesion but he wasn't when they picked him up.
The failed "war on drugs" claims another victim. What a waste of tax payer money the DEA has turned out to be. They should all be fired.
I'm still confused how the feds derive their authority to regulate drugs......was it the commerce clause? What BS.
I think they do use the commerce clause. The same clause they want to use to regulate the rest of our lives. I think the commerce clause was used in Ca according to one Justice at SCOTUS.
Obama and the Democrats have made it clear. They do not torture people. They kill them! Osama was assassinated and no one cares. An American Islamic was assassinated and no one cares (Obama is judge, jury, and executioner). This guy was simply assassinated by Obama. After giving guns to the Cartels, Obama can do anything. The news media should be asking for Obama's neck in the noose, but they are praising him for being a bully and a killer. Tomorrow is take your journalist to lunch day. Put them in a cauldron, boil them, and serve them to the apes!
I am a far cry from an Obama fan...but what does he have to do with this story? This guy was detained and forgotten. They found drugs in the house but not on him apparently. There is no justification for leaving him with no food and water for 5 days...regardless of who is president.
shove your bipartison bullsheet up your butt sir!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
D and R, just two faces of the same coin there skippy....grow up and step away from your koolaid stand...
Whoever is in charge at that DEA detention Ctr needs to lose their jobs, there must be accountability...
government agency...accountability...sorry, those two things just don't mix well....DC has shown us since ww2 that it is not held accountable for anything it does wrong....
government accountability as in GSA and Secret Service that kind of accountability. Yeah in your dreams.
You lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.
^ This saying is too schizophrenic for me and I think went out in the 90s. Do you like dogs, or not like dogs?
So you're blaming the victim for having known the suspects?