Two Middle School Students Hospitalized After Overdosing on Magic Mushrooms; Local Man Arrested
The school day was disturbed at a Colorado Middle School earlier this week after two pupils swallowed psilocybin mushrooms that they allegedly purchased from a local dealer who is now in jail.
The two Fox Meadow Middle School students were brought to the hospital on Tuesday, September 24, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department.
Damian Lee Solano, 21, was taken into the El Paso County Jail and held on a $50,000 bond.
According to authorities, he faces four felony counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, one felony count of attempted sale, and four misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Christine O’Brien, a spokeswoman for District 2 Harrison Schools, tells PEOPLE that both students were “treated and released to the family with resources to support them,” and that the district is “supporting the students and families as they return to school and learning.”
While the school denied that it was an “overdose,” claiming that the students “did not lose consciousness or become disoriented,” Caitlin Ford of the police department tells PEOPLE that the students had “adverse health effects, which would be the technical definition of an overdose.”
According to the police blotter, during the “overdose drug investigation,” detectives discovered that four youngsters, ages 12 to 16, had reportedly purchased mushrooms from an adult dealer.
According to police, the kids allegedly contacted Solano via the Telegram phone app early Monday evening and met him in the parking lot of the King Soopers grocery store. The students later provided them with “a general physical and vehicle description associated with the dealer.”
According to authorities, the parents of one of the children assisted detectives in recovering the remaining mushrooms and offered the student’s phone to reestablish touch with the alleged dealer.
Posing as one of the students, a detective communicated with the suspected dealer and agreed to meet for “another narcotics transaction,” according to police, who say they were able to “draw out the dealer with active communication via Telegram during the undercover purchase.”
During the covert operation, investigators allegedly noticed Solano, who they believe matched the students’ physical descriptions.
According to authorities, Solano was captured while carrying around 2 ounces of psilocybin mushrooms, as instructed by the detective over Telegram.
According to his online court docket, Solano’s initial appearance at El Paso County Courthouse is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. on October 4.
It was unclear whether he had yet acquired a lawyer.