Cpl. Bart Veal

Public Information Officer

903-798-3187 (office) 903-798-2368 (pager)

903-824-4199 (cell) 903-798-3023 (fax)

Texarkana Arkansas Police Badge

Re: Investigation leads to “Crack” at a Local Elementary School.

On Tuesday the 23rd of March 2004 at 8:45am Patrolman Jeff Clark was called to College Hill Elementary about a disturbance and possible narcotics. A teacher at the school met Officer Clark at the front desk to explain the incident. A 10-year-old student had arrived at school with her 5-year-old sibling. The 10-year-old was upset and crying. The teacher began to consol the child when a man, later identified as her father Stanley Howard, entered the school and began demanding that the child give him a napkin. Howard created a disturbance and the teacher asked him to leave. The 10-year-old told the teacher that Howard had given her a napkin to blow her nose and clean her face off when they arrived at the school. The teacher felt that it was odd for anyone to be upset over a napkin and feared that the Howard would return, so she called 911. Officer Clark and the teacher talked to 10-year-old and her 5-year-old sibling about the incident. This investigation led them to a trashcan near the front entrance of the school. They located the napkin that Howard had been demanding and the 10-year-old had deposited. Upon opening the napkin they discovered “crack” cocaine.

An investigation began and led to warrants being issued for 26-year-old Stanley Howard of Texarkana Arkansas. The warrants were issued for Distribution Near Certain Facilities (an enhancement of ten years in prison for being near or on school property), Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Endangering.

On Monday the 29th of March at 3:30pm Patrol and Narcotic Officers isolated Stanley Howard in his vehicle while he and a passenger 18 –year-old Devario Lewis of Texarkana Arkansas were coming to pick the 10-year-old up from school. Howard was arrested immediately and officers observed the passenger, Lewis throw another small bag of ‘crack” cocaine out of the window of the car. Lewis was subsequently arrested for Possession of a Controlled and Distribution Near Certain Facilities.

Narcotics Officers recovered a total of $400.00 worth of “crack” cocaine from the arrests and investigations.