Two students at a Colorado middle school skipped class earlier this week after using psilocybin mushrooms that they supposedly purchased from an incarcerated local dealer.
The Colorado Springs Police Department reported that the two middle students from Fox Meadow were taken to the hospital quickly on Tuesday, September 24.
El Paso County Jail has given a bond of $50,000 to 21-year-old Damian Lee Solano.
Police have charged him with four felonies for distributing controlled substances unlawfully, one felonious offense for attempting to sell, and four misdemeanor counts for contributing to a minor’s delinquency.
The two students were “treated and released to a family with resources to support them,” according to Christine O’Brien, a spokeswoman for District 2 Harrison Schools. She said the district is “supporting the students and families as they return to school and learning.”
Police spokeswoman Caitlin Ford told PEOPLE that the students suffered “adverse health effects, which would be the technical definition of an over-dosage,” even though the school denied that the students “did not lose consciousness or become disoriented.”
Officers discovered that four juveniles, ranging in age from twelve to sixteen, had allegedly bought mushrooms from an adult vendor during the “overdose drug investigation,” as reported in the police log.
Authorities claim that the students communicated with Solano via the messaging app Telegram on Monday night before meeting in person at the parking lot of the King Soopers grocery store. The students subsequently supplied “a general physical and vehicle description associated to the dealer,” according to the police.
The parents of one of the students allegedly helped authorities collect more mushrooms and re-established contact with the alleged dealer via their son’s phone.
Police claim they were able to “draw out the dealer with active communication over Telegram during the undercover purchase” after a detective, posing as one of the students, began speaking with the suspected dealer and arranged to meet for “another narcotics transaction.”
Solano allegedly matched the students’ physical description, which cops saw during the undercover investigation.
As the investigator had instructed via Telegram, Solano was reportedly in possession of approximately 2 ounces of psilocybin mushrooms at the time of his detention, according to the police.
As per his online court docket, Solano is scheduled to appear before the El Paso County Courthouse for the first time at 10:45 a.m. on October 4th.
Whether he had already hired an attorney was unclear.