POLICE: 'NOSY' MOM FOILS DRUG DEAL

FARMINGTON -- It began last week as a sales pitch - sent via text
message to a Farmington teenager's cellphone - for a quarter pound of
marijuana. And the sellers were willing to deliver.

The message - with a photograph of the marijuana attached - went to
one Farmington teen, who passed it on to friends. Friday night, a
Volvo station wagon carrying three Massachusetts teens and the
marijuana started for Farmington. They met with their customers -
three 15-year-old Farmington girls - then headed off toward Meadow
Road. That's where police, who'd been watching the Farmington teens
and waiting for the Volvo wagon, pulled the vehicle over and arrested
everyone.

Detectives had been tipped to the delivery by a Farmington woman who
borrowed her son's cellphone, found the message and called police.

In addition to seizing the marijuana, several hundred dollars in cash
and cellphones, police charged six people.

The seizure was a relatively small amount of marijuana - worth about
$800 in suburban prices. But it was noteworthy nonetheless, police
said.

"It's not a major drug seizure or a very large quantity," police Lt.
Bill Tyler said Tuesday. "The use of the text and the graphics on
cellphones is the modern-day word of mouth. Kids obviously are
familiar with it; the drug trade is very familiar with it; the police
are very familiar with it. Possibly, many parents are not. They should
be.

"One of your main jobs as a parent is to be nosy, just like this
parent was," Tyler said. "She saw the message and notified police."

Parents need to understand how their children are communicating so
they can keep tabs on them, Tyler said. They need to check their
children's cell phones, especially since they usually are paying the
bill, Tyler said.

And this parent ought to get a medal, said Kate Grabowski, a
Farmington mother and teacher in Glastonbury who leads an anti-drug
group called Farmington FOCUS.

"I think a lot of parents are too afraid to make those phone calls,"
Grabowski said. "Look at this woman. I think she deserves enormous
accolades. If I knew who she was, I would call her and say 'Good for
you.'"

Farmington FOCUS was created after a drunken driving accident that
killed a Farmington High School student in August 2004. Its goal is to
get parents talking about drug and alcohol problems in Farmington.
FOCUS stands for Focus On Communities Understanding Substance Abuse.

"The only way that we can combat this [problem] is to stick together
and be a community of parents paying attention," Grabowski said. Drugs
are a problem in Farmington and the police raid two weeks ago on a
Unionville house where heroin was allegedly being sold is evidence of
that, she said.

Farmington FOCUS is sponsoring a forum at 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at Farmington
High School on the latest issues in drug use.

The scheme broken up Friday apparently began with a 15-year-old boy
who moved from Farmington to Shrewsbury, Mass., an affluent community
near Worcester, but continued his relationship with friends in
Farmington, Farmington police Sgt. Dan Devine said.

The teen was in the Volvo that was pulled over Friday night and was
charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell and released
to his parents. Because of his age, he is considered a juvenile and
police did not release his name.

The others in the car who were arrested Friday are [names, ages, and
city redacted]. [name redacted] was charged
with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, and
was released on $1,000 bond for a court appearance Jan. 4. [name redacted] was
charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession
of marijuana, and conspiracy and was released on $10,000 bond for a
court appearance Jan. 3.

The three Farmington teens were 15 and were not identified by police
because of their ages. All were charged with possession of marijuana
and possession of drug paraphernalia and were released to their parents.

Shrewsbury police were not familiar with [names redacted], but are
now.

"It's something that's a continuing investigation," said Shrewsbury
Det. Paul Brown.