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Police sweep nabs 23 students for sex, drugs in woods near school | Crime
CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - A nearly day-long police operation took place recently to round up students who police say may be consuming drugs and alcohol and having sex in woods just off campus at an area high school.
The sweep took place on Oct. 21 when the school resource officer for Vance High School coordinated with "officers from multiple areas and units," according to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police report.
The focus of the operation, which took place from 9:30 am to 2 pm, was a "nearby wooded area" where students frequently visit in the 7600 block of IBM drive, according to the police report.
"Several students stated that drugs and alcohol are being consumed throughout the wooded area," the report said, adding that "sexual activity" takes place there, too.
"They just go back there and skip class," said Vance student Margarita Antonio, who was near the wooded hang-out when police busted the students.
"The gang units came and undercover cops came into woods and they were looking for people...and they handcuffed people and arrested some of them," said Antonio, who said a police helicopter was also present during the bust.
She said police searched her and confiscated her cell phone, along with many of the other students' phones.
"Some got suspended and some got expelled," said Malachi Nealy, another student at Vance.
Nealy said he went to the wooded area last year but has stopped going back in order to get his grades up and focus on his education. He said, at one point, there were beds, couches, and televisions in the woods.
WBTV.com found the area, which was about a quarter of a mile from the high school. There were no sofas or TVs, but there was trash everywhere, including many cigar and cigarette boxes and an empty vodka bottle.
During the operation "23 students were detained in the wooded area and subsequently identified by CMS staff as Vance students," the report said.
Of the 23 detained, it's unclear how many students were actually arrested for certain crimes or what punishment they might face.
Police indicated they will conduct a further investigation into the incidents.
Copyright 2011 WBTV.
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