A 13 year old 8th grade student at Cotter High School was taken into custody today on felony drug charges after an investigation revealed that she brought prescription Xanax pills to school and furnished them to other students.

Sheriff’s Deputy Julie Tilley, who is the School Resource Officer at Cotter Public Schools, was alerted at approximately 11:30 AM today by the Cotter High School Principal, Amanda Britt, that five students from the 7th and 8th grades were believed to have consumed the Xanax pills on school property earlier in the morning. Sheriff’s Investigators learned that the 13 year old 8th grader, who resides in the Midway area, had taken six (6) Xanax pills from her home and brought them to school with her concealed in the battery compartment of a calculator. These pills belonged to her stepfather. After this student arrived at school, she provided the Xanax pills to four other 7th and 8th grade students, who consumed them.

Each of these students was examined by the school nurse, but no further medical attention was immediately required. Each of the students involved has been suspended from school pending expulsion hearings before the Cotter School Board set for September 22nd.

The 13 year old student who brought the pills to school and distributed them has been taken to a juvenile detention facility on charges of Delivery of Schedule IV Controlled Substance (Xanax) – Four (4) Felony Counts and a Misdemeanor Possession of Controlled Substance charge. She will appear later in Baxter County Circuit Court – Juvenile Division.

John F. Montgomery,
Baxter County Sheriff