ONSLOW COUNTY IN DRUG MONEY WAR

Onslow County school leaders are questioning if money seized during a drug
bust last weekend in Maysville should be turned over to law enforcement
agencies.

Police plan to use much of the nearly $850,000 recovered to combat drug
dealing, but Onslow County Board of Education members, citing state law,
believe the public school system may be entitled to the money.

"This is a very unusual situation," said Don Horne, finance officer for
Onslow County Schools. "That (money)_would be very beneficial to the
schools if those dollars were made available to us."

Horne said basic fines and forfeitures collected in a county are routinely
remitted to the public schools in that county. According to Article 9,
Section 7 of the state constitution, "All moneys, stocks, bonds and other
property belonging to a county school fund, and the clear proceeds of all
penalties and forfeitures and of all fines collected in the several
counties for any breach of the penal laws of the State, shall be faithfully
appropriated and used exclusively for maintaining free public schools."

Three law enforcement agencies, including the Onslow County Sheriff's
Department and Jacksonville police, arrested five people May 12 on drug
charges.

Twelve grams of cocaine and a safe containing $225,225 were found at a home
on Mattocks Road in Maysville.

While at the scene, investigators found information about another safe at a
storage facility in New Bern. Craven County authorities retrieved the safe,
which contained more $621,990.

Authorities at the time said the money would likely be divided among the
three law enforcement agencies as part of the Asset Forfeiture Program,
which is generally administered through the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Gloria Dupree, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said nobody at
the office was available to comment on this specific case.

"We only comment on matters that are in the public record," Dupree said.

A spokesman from the U.S. Attorney's Office said the money would be turned
over to the Drug Enforcement Agency then given to the U.S. Marshal's
Office. He also said 80 percent of the forfeiture would be shared with the
local law enforcement agencies that were involved in the seizure of funds.

Superintendent Ron Singletary said he contacted Alex Erwin, Onslow school
board attorney, after he read about the drug raid.

"Any time we see cases with significant fines and forfeitures involved, we
always refer those to our attorney," Singletary said.

He said it was standard procedure to contact Erwin, who had already started
an inquiry regarding the case.

"Under the North Carolina Constitution, fines and forfeitures are supposed
to go to the school board," Erwin said.

However, when the federal government presses charges and the state
dismisses its case, the federal government isn't obligated to follow state
guidelines, according to Erwin.

"And that's the dilemma that always faces Onslow County school boards and
everywhere else," Erwin said.

Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said the federal government would handle
this case. He said the sheriff's department has worked closely with the
federal government during the past 11 years in the Drug Asset Forfeiture
Program.

He said the sheriff's department received a grant in 1991 from the federal
government to fund two deputies' salaries, equipment and two vehicles for
the sole purpose of fighting drug crime. He said since receiving the grant,
the sheriff's department has "referred all seizures that meet the federal
guidelines to the appropriate federal agency."

"There are lot of drug dealers still in prison through the federal program
that would be back out on the street in the state program," Brown said.

"That's why law enforcement agencies like to go federal; they have a real
stiff law when it comes to drug dealers."

He said the sheriff's department attempted to contact the Drug Enforcement
Agency on the night of the drug raid but was unable to reach anyone, so the
U.S. Attorney's Office was contacted.