Police officer stepped back in time as high school senior to make drug bust

Michael Robinson got a new name and a pair of baggy pants to complete his transformation from rookie Billings cop to high school student with a drug problem. The disguise worked so well that the officer was warned by some students who sold him drugs at Kalispell's high school that he should watch out for informants.

''I got warned about narcs all the time when I was buying drugs," Robinson said.

Robinson, 24, spent two months posing as a student at Flathead High School as part of an undercover investigation into drug dealing at the school. In April, at the end of the investigation, 11 students ages 16, 17 and 18 were arrested in a one-day sweep. All of the students arrested have been charged with drug-related crimes, and three have been expelled from school.

Kalispell Police Chief Frank Garner said Robinson played a key role in an investigation that started nearly a year ago. Finding the right officer to pose as a student was the first step, Garner said.

''It had to be somebody with the right character and the right look," Garner said.

For Robinson, who graduated from Shepherd High School in 1998, the offer to go undercover so early in his career was the ''chance of a lifetime," he said. He was first approached with the idea while still a cadet at the Montana Law Enforcement Academy last year.

''I jumped on it," Robinson said. ''An opportunity like this doesn't come along for everybody, and I'm not going to look this young forever."

Planning the operation took months, Robinson said, and needed approval by Billings police and city officials. In mid-January, he said, the path was cleared for the operation to begin.

Two weeks later, Robinson went back to school, this time as a senior with a drug problem who was forced by his parents to transfer from Billings Senior High School to the Flathead High School.

At least, that was his story.

Robinson and the other officers who worked on the investigation developed an elaborate story before Robinson ever stepped on campus. He took on a new identity -- Mike Pierce -- complete with a driver' s license that showed his age as 18. Robinson said he told students that he was 17 so they wouldn't ask him to buy cigarettes.

The cover story went like this: Pierce was the son of a Billings attorney who worked as a public defender. Pierce's father had pulled him out of Senior because he had gotten in trouble for drugs. Pierce's father originally was from Kalispell, and he decided his son could finish high school there and get away from the bad influences in Billings.

The story continued that Pierce was staying at a hotel in Kalispell until his father joined him later. The hotel was owned by a friend of the family who gave Pierce's father a break on the room and also promised to watch his son closely.

Next, Robinson had to fit in. The task force supplied him with a 1996 Jeep, and Robinson chose his own image: baggy pants and skater gear.

''I grew my hair out and didn't comb it all the time," Robinson said.

To keep the investigation secret and to protect Robinson, only four people at the school -- administrators and the Kalispell officer assigned to the school -- knew Robinson's identity. The plan was to make Robinson fit in as a student even to his teachers so they wouldn't start checking into his background, Robinson said. His classes included art, science fiction, P.E., auto maintenance and American government.

His first day was Feb. 2.

Students at the school were friendly, he said, and many welcomed him. One girl passed him a note in class, he recalled while smiling but without divulging its content.

''It's been a while since I got passed a note," he said. ''It was cute. It made me reminisce a little bit."

But Robinson had to remain focused on the operation. He spent the first three days listening and watching, then he gravitated toward the students who spoke about partying and drugs. A week into the two-month operation, Robinson made his first drug deal and bought marijuana from a student, he said.

''It was way too easy," he said.

During the ensuing weeks, Robinson met as many students as possible who were involved with drugs. He also had to stay up with his school work so his teachers wouldn't get suspicious and check into Mike Pierce's scholastic history. He earned a 3.6 grade average during his two months at school, he said.

When he had set up a drug deal, Robinson contacted the task force. Officers were always located nearby during the drug deals, he said. Robinson also usually wore a body wire to record the deal, and he carried a hidden handgun.

While many of the conversations he had with students were about drugs and parties, Robinson said he also met plenty of students he admired. Some tried to help him by steering him away from known drug users and dealers, he said.

Garner said he was impressed when he later reviewed Robinson's reports about the number of students who wanted to help the fictional Pierce.

''There were kids throwing him lifelines the whole time he was there," Garner said. ''That's encouraging."

Robinson's last day as Mike Pierce was the day before spring break began in late March. He said goodbye to a few students, then never returned. A few days after school resumed in April, two teams of police officers arrested 10 students at their homes and one at the school. The arrests were based on the evidence that Robinson collected.

Robinson said he felt uncomfortable lying to the students who befriended him, but he feels no remorse about the arrests that were made as a result of his ruse.

''I didn't feel bad about the people I was busting," he said. ''We put a lot of people in jail that need to be in jail. I hope it makes an impact and they realize drugs are not the way to go."