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Report details school principal’s arrest on meth charges
Published Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010 | 11:59 p.m.
Updated Friday, Sept. 3, 2010 | 2:31 p.m.
Leroy Espinosa
Joseph Rodriquez
Dondero Elementary School Principal Leroy Espinosa was arrested Thursday on a charge of possession of methamphetamine, Clark County School District police said.
Police also arrested Joseph Rodriquez, the office manager of Simmons Elementary, who lived with Espinosa, police said.
Espinosa, 53, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on one count of possession of methamphetamine, a felony, one misdemeanor count of possession of an ounce or less of marijuana and four misdemeanor counts of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
Rodriquez, 48, was booked on one felony count of possession of methamphetamine, one misdemeanor count of possession of an ounce or less of marijuana and two misdemeanor counts of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
Jail records indicated neither man was in custody Friday morning.
According to Rodriquez’s arrest report, police were called to Simmons Elementary after the school clerk found a plastic bag with a white crystal substance near the copy machine.
Police said the substance tested positive for methamphetamine. This was the second time drugs were found in the school office; a similar substance was found months earlier in a magazine on the office manager’s desk, police said.
Police questioned Rodriquez and got his permission to search his car, where they found marijuana and pipes with marijuana and meth residue, the report says.
Rodriquez told police he uses the marijuana to treat medical problems, but he didn’t have his prescription with him, the report says. Police said Rodriquez admitted the drugs were his and that the meth must have fallen out of his pocket when he pulled out his keys.
Rodriquez was arrested at the school, but requested that it not be in front of students, police said.
While he was being taken to the Clark County Detention Center, Rodriquez allegedly told an officer “he has had a problem for some time and needed to get help,” the arrest report says.
Police then went to Rodriquez’s home, where they met Espinosa, who gave them permission to search the house and his car, according to Espinosa’s arrest report.
Officers found marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the house and methamphetamine in Espinosa’s car, the report says.
School District officials said they couldn’t comment on the arrests, but confirmed that the two were district employees.
Espinosa began working for the School District on Aug. 15, 1991, a school district spokeswoman said. He has been the principal at Dondero Elementary since June 2003. Rodriquez was hired by the district on March 2, 1992.
Harvey N. Dondero Elementary School is near the intersection of Harmon Avenue and Jones Boulevard in the western valley. Simmons Elementary is in North Las Vegas, near the intersection of Tropical Parkway and Clayton Street.
Clark County assessor records show the two men purchased the home, which is near Decatur Boulevard and Alexander Road, in 2003.
It wasn’t clear whether either man had an attorney. Calls to their home Friday went unanswered.
Discussion: 2 comments so far…
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I imagine Mr Rodriguez was just doing his job as a fine supporter to Mr Espinoza.
Make that 902 jobs that the school district is planning on having available.
Makes teachers look good, doesn't it? Just like when cops and firemen get arrested. It is a black eye for all!
Hey, times are tough. With the district's pay freezes, a guy has to supplement his income somehow.
If past experience proves anything, they will just get placed in other schools. The person who narced on them will get fired.
Is this what they meant by "stimulus"?
Tweaker-Teachers Espinosa and Rodriguez have two factors working for their advantage in this incident:
Premiero: Both are Hispanic and they will play that card for all it's worth.
Segundo: After 30 days of tax funded rehab, the teachers union will say both have been rehabilitated and deserve full reinstatement with back pay.
Poor guys. Caught drivin dirty.
When I chatted with a new acquaintance who is involved in oversight of psychology and counseling of state employees including teachers, principals, DMV, roads, etc, I found out that well over half our public employees are on something.
Scrips, powder, pot, whatever.
Got me to thinkin: a third obese, a half loaded, buncha unemployed, good God!
"Are you and I the only straight ones here carryin the load?" I asked the new acquaintance.
"Straight? Wait til I get home and have a couple a pulls on my bong before I tackle a loaded question like that!"
Was Paris holding Espinosa's purse the other night?
Rumor has it, it was phen phen to lose weight.
The teachers union represents neither of these people. They aren't teachers.
Jerk. Why couldn't he stick to something legal like guns and explosives?
Breaking Bad anyone?
With all the money the CCSD pours out they couldn't do random drug testing? The importance of the children safety should be the main factor.
Is this where is starts? Were they selling to students?
Good Luck fixing this CCSD
First - you idiots who are making this a racial issue are nut jobs and you need to stop sitting on your brains so much. Espinosa is an American and has been with the school district for 20 plus years.
I have two kids in Dondero and this is a sad, sad day at the school. Sad for the teachers, the administration, the parents and the impressionable students.
From my viewpoint, Espinosa seems to have been a decent principal, although quirky definitely describes him. Academic achievement is emphasized and fostered and school spirit appears good. If there were any problems behind the scenes, they weren't very apparent to me as a parent.
I can say, unequivocally, that the students all like and look up to Espinosa - which is the true story here, the true tragedy. They trusted that what he said was right - "Don't do drugs", "Be a good citizen", etc, etc, and now these kids will learn what from his hypocrisy? I have already begun talking to my kids and I think my kids will be ok, but what about the kids from families struggling with drug problems? What message did they just get?
Trust no one.
Sad.
@jp702
Your reasoning makes no sense to these bigots. These animals are no different than the animals who are in charge of a school and, simultaneously, engage in drug use.
Your argument falls on deaf ears. Think about it, they would rather have Sarah Palin than Barack Obama as president.
What the hell is wrong with people? They each had a job in a tough economy and they chose to throw it all away. How stupid!
Two Thumbs down for these clowns! Principals make over $125,000 yr. all of taxpayers hard earned $ which goes to paying for the principals meth habit. What a waste!
I've worked with Leroy Espinosa in the past and I am frankly very shocked by this news. He's been an excellent principal and really cares about the students and the teachers.
jp702: It's definitely a teachable moment, that anyone can have a problem with drugs and this is one of the consequences of using drugs.
I hope Leroy gets the help he needs and that he hasn't blown his whole career because he's one of the good administrators. I wish him the very best.
You got hookers that are teachers, whats the big deal lol
Honest question...can the district fire these guys right away? Or do union rules require that they continue to be paid for a certain amount of time? Do they get paid until they're actually convicted? What happens after that?
JP702
Sometimes he seems a little Quirky. Probally because he was on METH
THEY GOT CAUGHT WITH METH!!!
It's close to the most dangerous drug out there. School just started and these guys are on METH. If he had more than 5 Grams, I hope the Feds come and get him and he gets the 5 year mandatory minimum. The pot I could care less about! Pay the ticket and don't get caught again. If I was a parent at that school I would be up in arms about him going into the school district. Kick his a** out. Innocent until guilty, but he needs to go. ALL CCSD employees should be tested for hard drugs. Know wonder our school system is messed up
they should have pulled the "Hilton".
Great example for are student.
The judge should make a example of these guys.
There should be NO Drugs on schools grounds.
We are dealing with a public health issue here, not a crime and punishment issue!
I don't think they read this part in the employee handbook.
IV. The district recognizes the need to maintain a drug-free workplace as provided for in the Drug-Free Workplace and the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Acts.
A. Drugs and Alcohol Prohibited
The unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of drugs and/or alcohol at any district property, workplace, or as a part of any of a school's activities is prohibited. For the purposes of this policy, drugs are defined as any controlled substance or drug which is not legally obtainable or any controlled substance or drug which is legally obtainable, such as a prescription drug, but which is not legally obtained or is not being used for prescribed purposes.
The school district needs to do a mandatory drug test on everyone working for them and terminate accordingly.
Good luck passing that kind of test teachers and administrators.
Hmm. 2 single educated guys living together in a cozy house, doing meth and other stuff. Me thinketh there's more to this story. Anybody else have any ideas?
They admitted possession and it was on school grounds. He should be fired immediately!!!!
FWIW:
My principal was an embezzler and his kid a criminal now residing in a penitentiary for attempted murder, some social mentors huh?
This school dope thing is nothing everyone knows those attending schools have a long history of doing drugs anyway -- heck, your law enforcement heroes are buying drugs on the street with impunity.
A game of hypocrisy -- educate your kids in the safety of their home.
: {
These clowns where dealing! At school!
Another case against Affirmative Action! FAIL
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/20...
HAHAHAAHAHAHAH. Doomed, I tell yah. Thought we had it bad.
Where is the outrage! This is exactly what is wrong with CCSD! That is to say; Espinosa gets his boyfriend a job at the District.
Teachers smoking a little mj...big freaking deal.
But METH? WTF!!!
Opps....sorry teachers, he is not a teacher.
So the principal didnt actually have anything at school or on him while at the school, his roomate did. Lawsuit in the making.
Lobo...it was in his car. He must be one of those who ride the bus to school?
Here's the thing, everytime some teacher or other school personnel does something wrong the public lumps all of us into the same group. The reality is this: Teachers, principals and support staff are human. We all make mistakes and sometimes do the wrong thing just like every one of the self righteous people who has commented on this story. We have personal lives where things happen that we are not always proud of. If anything we beat ourselves up about it more than you because the MAJORITY of us know what a precious place we have in our students lives. People saying that if the principal or office manager was doing drugs then the staff must be too is absolutely ridiculous. I am sure that the arrest was as shocking to the staff as it was to the parents. Saying that they are illegal immigrants is absurd as they have to prove thier residency status to be hired. Saying that they are selling to the kids is insane. People do things to themselves that they would never wish upon someone else. Saying that they are why our school district ranks so low is just ingorant. If we look at the numbers, we have one of the highest transciency rates in the country. Combine that with the huge numbers of students whe dont speak English and the parents who work odd shifts, it is apparent that two people in a sea of over 20,000 employees are not the cause. Espicially if you consider that they do not even work in the classrooms. As for the homosexuality? Who cares? I'm pretty sure they weren't having sex at school so it's no one's business how they choose to live.
Very much agree with most of your post, raybies. Please realize that the posters on these boards aren't really a fair representation of the community. Many have an agenda (left or right) and subscribe to this ideology that triggers an automatic response without putting any thought into it.
That said, I don't know that the ESL portion of the community is to blame for the crap education system. Nor is it solely the fault of the odd work hours (though I'm sure neither help). I think teachers need to acknowledge that their are some terrible teachers that need to be fired, and great teachers that we need to rewarded. My question above was regarding the union rules for firing these guys. Do we have to continue paying them until they're convicted of their crimes? Or are they on non-paid leave, and their pay is suspended pending the results of the case? These union restrictions really frustrate people, and give teachers a bad name. Meanwhile our kids are the worst performers in the nation.
Anyway, I'm probably another extremist poster that's fixated on a certain solution to one particular problem, but please don't let these posts bother you too much. If you're a good teacher, we need you to stick around and stay positive and do what you can for the kids, and try to change things that we can actually control.
Hey if they do drugs at school...what is to say they did not have sex?
If they are stupid enough to leave the METH in the office for any kid to find (two or more times), what is to say they did not have sex at school while doing METH?
wow no wounder when you would go talk to him he never know what the f was going on at the school ...he was busy doing dirty ...lol ..that school is bad and he was bad i love the school my kids go to now =)
Lobo69
Read the article again. Do you understand English? He admitted to it. I'm not a model citizen, but this takes the cake. Get his butt out immediately
anthonyjoevegas:
Espinosa (the principal) didn't admit to anything. Rodriguez did. Who was that again who had the problem understanding English?
The article does not state that he admitted to it. You need to read it again or take an English class yourself. Lawyers have a way to bend anything. Anthony.
gbigs writes: "Who defends the Union Teachers again? oh yea. Unions."
Espinosa is a principal; Rodriguez is an office manager and thus support staff. Neither are teachers and neither are defended by the teachers' union. Just because a person works for a school does not mean he or she is automatically a teacher.
I know that was stated previously, but gbigs seems to be a slow learner.
Shannon and Lobo,
Yes it was rodriguez who had the meth and admitted to it. The Meth was found in the school!!! You don't deny that do you? Espiosa lives with rodrigez. After arresting rodriguez they went to Their house. I never said the name rodriguez or espinosa. The police went to then check their home, with espinosa giving permission to search his car and home (dumb thing to do if they don't have a warrant say no). He was probally so high he didn't think straight. Nice to know you guys are backing tweakers that are in contact with little kids. I don't even want a response.
Too bad, anthonyjoevegas, you're going to get a response. You are doing a whole lot of speculating, judging, and convicting without having all the facts.
Espinosa has been a fantastic principal. I don't know if he has a problem with meth, but he sure didn't when I worked with him. If he does now, I hope he gets the help he needs. I'd work with him again in a heartbeat as long as he was clean. There aren't many administrators in this school district that I could say the same about.
If they found the substance before in the magazines on his desk, makes you wonder how many people in the office knew what was going on?
@BeSafe
Just another example of ignorance. To even suggest that there would be an open bar at PTA meetings is just asinine. Please realize that the majority of school personnel genuinely care for the students. Elementary schools especially become a second home for some of those kids. While of course it is dismaying that someone in authority is in such a predicament, the staff of those schools is in no way accountable for any of it. I hope I didn't use too many big words for you.
@peaches
They don't even work at the same school.
Of course, according to some of the posts on here, the staff is probably gay by association in addition to serving mixed drinks at open house and smoking joints in the teacher's lounge at lunch. If anyone really thinks that, they need to get a clue. Oh and they could try talking to their child's teacher more than just at parent conferences if they really are so concerned about what happens at school.
This is all fascinating,but will BeaTheWolfPack try one more time to construct a nonconstrictable comment.It's getting late Wolf,don't get voted off the island.We really are curious,what do they do 2 u after 4 in a row?
What's going on here? Is this a case of personal use or worse? Is this another case of MMM or gay MMM?
And this is a senior educator and an administrator?
This is what happens when you have democrats, unions, and the department of education running the education establishment. My child attends Simmons, and I want to know why something was not done about this the first time this was found in the office manager's office. Why, because the ESEA was protecting Rodriguez.
Now that's what I call "Higher" Learning.
The principal or office manager would have not been represented by the union. If this happened to an employee that was represented by the union, it wouldn't matter, the union couldn't "save" them. The union is in place to protect workers, not promote criminals.
It shows how addictive meth is that he couldn't wait to use until he got home, and he risked everything. That is the problem with addictive substances, you lose your head, you lose your family, you lose your possessions and home, you lose your freedom and pretty soon you lose your life.
As if the teachers didn't have enough to deal with: teaching and training the kids, the stress of the work, the neighborhoods; they had to put up with these "quirky" men in the office on top of it.
It is funny that administrators want to be known as administrators when it comes to pay, vacation pay, retirement benefits, overtime, health insurance and other perks, and title but want to be called teachers whenever there is a problem like reduction in force or as with these two individuals. While the action of these two men is a black mark for all in education, it has nothing to do with the title of "teacher"; these were not teachers in this case but were "administrators", the district's overlords of high pay, title,authority and position.
"medical marijuana," right, lol!
It's no big deal. Just a couple of guys doing their job their way. It's the American way, especially in Vegas.
Half the teachers are drunks, stoners, hookers and jack-offs that twiddle their thumbs or something while the children are being warehoused and dumbed down enough to handle life here in Drunk Loaded Hookerville.
If Raybies is a school teacher then it's no wonder our kids are failing so miserably in school. Just go and re-read that paragraph and note the numerous errors in spelling and sentence structure :( It's embarrassing to say the least that those entrusted to teach kids can't even spell :(
It's sad but true - principals today own little kingdoms and dispense privilege to enforce their wishes for the way things will be.
We pay 'em too much and they usually can't handle the wealth, and they craze, crack and crumble with the crushing failures to address the real needs of all those so incredibly needy people.
The task is huge; the rummies, entrenched and parents, demanding. My heart goes out to the parents struggling with the treachery issues that must rise up in their thoughts about schools in general when this drug thing hits the fan in early September.
Why everyone brings ICE to their jobs?
Don't they?
Especially to the school. Maybe the kids want some.?
why they look like good guys. Don't they?
It's not against the law to bring and smoke ICE on school grounds.
Is it?
They probably just wanted to carry the ICE to school then go
home and smoke it. Why doesn't every do it?
@anthonyjoevegas
" Know wonder our school system is messed up"
hahahahahaha, yeah, know wonder!
"Fumiko," is obviously a CCSD grad! LOL! Nice diction buddy.
What a freaky turn of events reported in this article....Two men living together as one of them school employees is an admitted meth user, an office manager at that, probably micro manages anyway and makes the other staff overwork to cover his workload.
There will be a zero tolerence policy with the school district as both individuals will be terminated.... however it is not a zero tolerence policy if you don't get caught.
Can you imagine a child being sent to a principal's office if any principal was coming down on meth....I bet the kids would be on their best behavior once the word was out.
Home schooling now looks like it isn't such a bad idea lol.
At least the majority of elementary kids aren't learning weights and measures yet, except the children related to drug dealing parents or other family members teaching them.
Wondering if Paris did real well in Spanish class, or if she knows how to say '8 ball' in espanol ? .... ocho ballero would be suitible enough I guess.
I also wanna know what Chunky says, and what Chunky thinks !
It sounds as if the only requirement to teach or administer at a Las Vegas elementary school is a pulse.
I think you fire more than the principal but also the district administer that has responsibility for overseeing this school.
There are those wonder why some parents prefer private or charter schools.
OMG , I was once a Dondero Dolphin , & I remember Mr.Espinoza , I always knew he was gay , but a meth addict ? that caught me off guard
It's pretty obvious that the addiction problem in this country is beyond epidemic. If you take the "reported" cases and double that number, you might have a semblance of the scope of the issue.
For every person whose problem is public knowledge, there is a closet addict, using under the radar and going to great lengths to maintain the appearance of normality.
Many more progressive Westernized countries have adopted a medical approach to addiction, and have de-criminalized it, for the most part, freeing up their precious prison space for the true sickies. Our prison population (over 2 million and climbing) is comprised mostly of drug offenders, mostly non-violent, and if there was violence, drugs were behind it.
The drug war ridiculousness is a whole different rant. Don't get me started.
The point I want to make is that addicts are everywhere, and they are those whom you'd least expect. A teacher, the dry cleaning clerk, your UPS guy. People are so shocked to learn that an otherwise solid, good man such as the principal could be a meth addict. And for all the strides in approaching addiction like a "disease", the stigma will always be there. Particularly with meth. Many people think all meth addicts are homeless and teethless. That they pick invisible bugs off their bodies and stay awake for two weeks.
I have sympathy for the men, because as addicts, they lost control over their lives and their ability to exercise sound judgment.
People may say "ok, fine, they had a problem, I can understand that. But there is no excuse for not getting help. Why didn't they seek treatment?" And again, what people don't realize is that the stigma associated w/ street drugs (even vs. pill popping opiate addicts) deters people because of the social and legal risks associated with being on file as a "tweaker"