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Suffolk police have arrested a Mastic man who they say supplied marijuana gummies to a student at William Floyd Middle School, which were later distributed to classmates and sickened nearly a dozen young teens in March.
Wilmer Castillo-Garcia, 22, of Bedford Avenue, was charged Tuesday with multiple counts, including criminal sale of a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a child, police said.
Authorities responded to the Moriches school around 10:10 a.m. on March 3 after 13 students, all aged 13 or 14, ingested cannabis gummies. Eleven were taken to area hospitals for evaluation. One was released to a parent.
Following an investigation, detectives executed a search warrant Tuesday at 66 Van Buren St. in Mastic, where they seized cocaine, cash and narcotics packaging materials. Two men at that address — Breiner Mayen-Balcarcel, 20, and Carlos Mendez-Aviles, 21 — were also arrested on drug possession and sale charges, police said.
Castillo-Garcia and Mayen-Balcarcel are expected to be arraigned May 28 in Central Islip. Mendez-Aviles will be arraigned at a later date.
“We are grateful to our first responders for their quick response, thankful that the students will be treated, and hopeful that they will recover quickly,” the district said in a statement that was issued after the March incident.
The news alarmed members of the district community.
“Where are 12 year old kids getting access to THC gummies? This is such a scary thing,” Charlene Dillon had written in a Facebook discussion. “We all know that our children cannot be watched 24/7, but the child who was giving them out needs to face consequences and where they were able to get them from needs to be figured out.”
