
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, January 17, 1994                   TAG: 9401170113
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PRINCE GEORGE                                LENGTH: Short

DARE PROGRAM INSPIRES GIRL TO BUST PARENTS

Shortly after hearing lectures in school on the dangers of drug abuse, an 11-year-old Prince George County girl told authorities her parents were growing marijuana in their home, police said.

As a result, officers from the Prince George Sheriff-Police Department raided the home and found what Lt. Donald Hunter described as "the most elaborate growing facility I have ever seen."

The girl told police she had learned from the DARE drug awareness program at her school that drugs were dangerous, and "she didn't want her parents to hurt themselves anymore" Hunter said.

The parents, Ralph and Kelly Schmidt, were arrested Friday on charges of manufacturing and possessing marijuana with intent to distribute. They were released on bond pending a hearing in Prince George General District Court.

Hunter said the child, a pupil at L.L. Beazley Elementary School, informed school officials about what was going on in her home.

Police found a room, about 4 feet by 8 feet, hidden behind a door covered by a 5-foot-high shoe rack.

The room contained an elaborate irrigation system, artificial lighting and a temperature control system for year-round growing of marijuana plants, Hunter said.

After the couple were arrested, the child, with tears in her eyes, told her father that she was sorry, Hunter said. The father comforted the child saying, "You did nothing wrong," Hunter said.

by CNB