COLORADO SPRINGS, CO— A man suspected of drug dealing was placed under arrest on Tuesday, just hours after he allegedly sold two juveniles at Fox Meadow Middle School psilocybin mushrooms, resulting in both of them overdosing.
The students were taken to Memorial Children’s Hospital for treatment, according to The Denver Post.
As reported by USA Today, the suspect- identified as Damien Solano, 21- was arrested by Colorado Springs Police after officers examined a phone of one of the underage victims and discovered they had communicated with Solano via the Telegram application. The suspect was later arrested in an undercover drug buy- lured in by investigators using the Telegram app. Solano was allegedly arrested with two ounces of psilocybin mushrooms on his person. A detective posing as a youth carried out the undercover bust.
In an email to USA Today, Colorado Springs police spokesperson Caitlin Ford explained that the suspect had allegedly been in contact with four minors aged 12 to 16 via the messaging app and met up in the parking lot of a nearby King Soopers supermarket, where he sold the mushrooms for cash.
According to the CSPD blotter, "four juveniles, ages ranging from 12 through 16, purchased the mushrooms from an adult dealer. Detectives worked with the juvenile’s parents and were able to recover the remaining psilocybin mushrooms from the juvenile’s residence as evidence and the utilize the juvenile’s phone to communicate with the dealer. Detective Johnson posed as the juvenile and maintained communication with the dealer."
"The juveniles provided a general physical and vehicle description associated to the dealer, no positive identification was made at the time. Detective Johnson was able to establish another narcotics transaction with the dealer who provided his location."
"MNU detectives and Detective Johnson were able to draw out the dealer with active communication over Telegram during the undercover purchase. During the course of the undercover operation, Detectives observed a male match the physical descriptors provided by the juveniles and based on the suspect’s behavior was consistent with the details of the narcotics transaction between Detective Johnson and the dealer."
The students were taken to Memorial Children’s Hospital for treatment, according to The Denver Post.
As reported by USA Today, the suspect- identified as Damien Solano, 21- was arrested by Colorado Springs Police after officers examined a phone of one of the underage victims and discovered they had communicated with Solano via the Telegram application. The suspect was later arrested in an undercover drug buy- lured in by investigators using the Telegram app. Solano was allegedly arrested with two ounces of psilocybin mushrooms on his person. A detective posing as a youth carried out the undercover bust.
In an email to USA Today, Colorado Springs police spokesperson Caitlin Ford explained that the suspect had allegedly been in contact with four minors aged 12 to 16 via the messaging app and met up in the parking lot of a nearby King Soopers supermarket, where he sold the mushrooms for cash.
According to the CSPD blotter, "four juveniles, ages ranging from 12 through 16, purchased the mushrooms from an adult dealer. Detectives worked with the juvenile’s parents and were able to recover the remaining psilocybin mushrooms from the juvenile’s residence as evidence and the utilize the juvenile’s phone to communicate with the dealer. Detective Johnson posed as the juvenile and maintained communication with the dealer."
"The juveniles provided a general physical and vehicle description associated to the dealer, no positive identification was made at the time. Detective Johnson was able to establish another narcotics transaction with the dealer who provided his location."
"MNU detectives and Detective Johnson were able to draw out the dealer with active communication over Telegram during the undercover purchase. During the course of the undercover operation, Detectives observed a male match the physical descriptors provided by the juveniles and based on the suspect’s behavior was consistent with the details of the narcotics transaction between Detective Johnson and the dealer."
Christine O'Brien, a Harrison School District 2 spokeswoman told The Gazette that the two overdosed students were treated and released to their families.
"We appreciate the diligence of our education staff, our students, and families who immediately report concerns like these," she said via email.
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