Teens/others caught for heroin selling in FM area (Dallas: middle-class, foreclosed)

[loves2read]

story in today's FTW paper about a group of teens and olders caught in police sting for selling heroin

13 young adults accused of dealing heroin in Flower Mound area | Crime and Safety | News...

other stories say 17 people accused

Flower Mound Heroin Investigation Leads To 17 Federal Indictments « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

and this posting on different site from 2010 is asking about heroin use in FM
when teen overdosed last year
Flower mound's new fad, HEROINE - [domain blocked due to spam]

I don't live in FM--not trying to throw stones--but sometimes stories like this come and go w/o people who might not be IN town at the time learning about the history

I know FM is not the only place young people can buy drugs--
just a shout out so people know that FM like any other part of the country can have issues with drugs--that all is not totally benign in middle-class suburbia
and that teens ALWAYS need to have parental involvement/oversight--
IMO don't take anything for granted in the life of a teen--even yours...

[PrincessKick]

I live in FM and have two boys. Unfortunately this story can be written about just about any suburb in TX and across the US. If anyone expects that they are immune to this type of activity by being in a suburb out of the city then they live in fairytale land. It should not be a reason to not move to FM in my opinion. The positives way outnumber the negatives.

[PrincessKick]

I hope my last post did not sound too defensive. I apologize if it was.

[debzkidz]

Originally Posted by PrincessKick

I live in FM and have two boys. Unfortunately this story can be written about just about any suburb in TX and across the US. If anyone expects that they are immune to this type of activity by being in a suburb out of the city then they live in fairytale land. It should not be a reason to not move to FM in my opinion. The positives way outnumber the negatives.

Well said.

[5stones]

Yes, all places have drugs and all teens can get drugs etc... IT is everywhere.

But not every upper middle class suburban town has the drug ring that is this big. You have a few people who know where to get it, have friends who can buy it etc...

This is a HUGE case and it was a HUGE ring.
With the suburban teens as the drug dealers (not the image you think of when the drug dealer comes to mind)

Also being Herion and 'cheese' at that makes this very sobering. This is highly addictive and lethel, not on the same level of drug use as pot, prescription pills or alcohol use.
Herion is very scarey stuff and in the past 10 years it has become the "choice" drug of young adults since you can now smoke it and no longer have to deal with needles etc...
The problem is that these new forms of herion are HIGHLY addictive, you can literally become addicted by 1 use. It is more pure than ever before(think 70's era) Along with the potency the price has gone down alot! $10 can get you a good ammount.

But, FM has been dealing with the herione issue for awhile ESP. cheese which is prevelent in FM. I think the problem has been "sweept under the rug" so to speak and the extent of the problem was being ignored (as it usually is in upper middle class areas..."it doesn't happen here" etc)
It is not the city image anyone wants. Now with the investigation finally closing out with arrests etc...the city and it's residents are going to have to face some serious times... How they deal with it now and the aftermath will shape the city's future.

[loves2read]

I agree that this case is going to draw attention to FM in negative way but some people don't want to admit that "good kids" can do bad things
I am sure that many parents of these kids will claim they had no idea what their children were doing--and they could very well be right--but that does not mean they can absolve themselves of responsibility just by saying they did not know their kids were involved in this

I think it would be difficult to NOT know that your son/daughter was using heroin if it went on for more than a few weeks
and the investigators are the ones saying this is NOT a normal drug ring--
note that two of the people charged were felons--that means guys who had already done a prison tour

this was a gang--a gang of bad people who wanted to do bad things--and to the people who know about levels of involvement this was NOT a normal situation--therefore I think it is diluting down the severity to say that the same situation could be found in any other town in TX--
it can't--

James Capra, the special agent in charge of the DEA’s Dallas field office, says this case stood out. “In a nearly 25 year career, probably one of the first times where I’ve seen a network like this.”

it should not stop anyone from moving into FLower Mound or any of the other towns those people were living and selling their drugs--you just can't take anything for granted and think you are immune or your kids are immune--

It would not surprise me if they find other people involved in this in some different ways--like gun dealing or maybe porn because people who are on heroin will do anythng to keep their habit flowing...

[PrincessKick]

I don't think it's diluting it down because I honestly would not be surprised to see similar stories come out of places like Southlake, Plano, etc. People are guilty of sticking their heads in the sand too much and unfortunately a lot of the time in regards to their own children

[caicai]

Some of these assumptions are almost laughable...HUGE drug ring...LOL.

Some of these kids are in serious trouble but I bet 1/2 these indictments were done to cause snitching to bring on more arrests.

I have lived in many different parts of N. Texas and have family all over the Metroplex. If you think this problem is not in your city, get your head out of the sand...

This 13 month investigation happened because a devoted mom who lost her son to his addiction refused to let his death in 2010 get "swept under the rug" like most towns do...including FM. She went above the FMPD and went to the DEA. I applaud her efforts in the community to educate schools/parents/and our youth. She will not stop and as a parent of two young children, I appreciate it. Heroin deaths do not just happen in FM. What most towns don't have is a person who has taken the heartbreaking loss of her child and turned it into a strength for our community. So FM is going to get some bad press over this...hope this helps the town in "Winning the Fight".

I don't care what a 25-year DEA agent is quoted as saying...drugs would not be such a problem in the world if all drug rings were this "HUGE"...

[loves2read]

but that is the deal see--it did not happen in other locations--at least with this entrenched approach

Heroin use said to be on rise in Tarrant County | News | News from Fort Worth, Dallas, A... (http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/11/13/2629625/heroin-use-said-to-be-on-rise.html - broken link)
that article speaks to the rising use of heroin in NE Tarrant county

[5stones]

If you think this problem is not in your city, get your head out of the sand...

No-ones head is in the sand, we all know every community has drug issues and all schools have drugs being distributed.

What makes this case different is the age of the sellers, the fact that they are sellers and users(most sellers don't use) AND that they are from upper middle class families (again most sellers come from lower socio economic backgrounds)
Users come from all socio economic backgrounds, drugs cross all ethnic and economic lines.

Again, this is different because it is herion. this isn't a grow house that went up in a foreclosed home in a upper middle class neighborhood. It's not little Johnnie raiding his mom's xanax and brothers ritalin to sell at lunchtime. This is organized and made up FM's own kids selling to others in the area.

I agree that all across the US every town has seen a death related to herion. BUT not every town and city has the supply that this is. Most users have to travel to a bit more "seedy" area to get thier dime bag, not many can get thier fix within 5miles of home. Can they get pot that close, sure.

I don't care what a 25-year DEA agent is quoted as saying...

because you have so vast expirence in Drug arrests?