Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Oregon. Photo by Bureau of Indian Education
A young member of the Warm Springs Tribes is facing trial for possession of marijuana at Chemawa Indian School in Oregon. But Devontre Thomas, 19, was never found with the drug, according to news reports. Instead the single charge stems from an allegation that he had a very small amount of the substance -- about a gram -- at the school over a year ago. So why is Thomas, who already graduated from Chemawa and hopes to attend college, being prosecuted in a state where marijuana is legal and where even his own tribe has legalized the drug? Officials are still trying to figure that out but it's likely he's being targeted because the off-reservation boarding school is run by the Bureau of Indian Education. "I think it's deplorable," Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) told Willamette Week. "What are we doing? Where are our priorities? A kid? Turning his life upside down? They don't have anything better to do to protect young people or Oregonians? It's incomprehensible to me."
Devontre Thomas graduated from Chemawa Indian School on May 13, 2016, a month after he was charged in federal court with possession of marijuana. Photo by Lodema Mahone
Thomas was expected to plead guilty, which would have left a blemish on his record, but opted for a jury trial, Willamette Week reported. The two-day trial is scheduled to start on September 13, according to court records. Thomas was charged with a misdemeanor in April 13, 2016. The information states that the alleged marijuana possession incident occurred on March 24, 2015. It's not clear why federal prosecutors waited so long to bring the case. According to Willamette Week, the Marion County Sheriff's Office responded to the school on March 25, 2015, after the marijuana was found in another student's backpack, so school and local authorities had long known about the incident. Thomas graduated from Chemawa on May 13. Get the Story:
An Oregon teen is facing federal drug charges over a single gram of marijuana (The Washington Post 8/3)
Devontre Thomas is 19. He Could Face a Year in Prison. For a Gram of Marijuana. (Willamette Week 7/26)
Why is an Oregon teen facing a federal charge for pot? (KGW 5/2)
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