California middle school student suspended for dangerous prank on teacher using pills

MADERA, Calif. -- A cruel prank has gotten a middle school student in major trouble after he tampered with his teacher's drink Monday.

That incident happened at Desmond Middle School in Madera, California where police say a teacher had just wrapped up her fourth-period class and was emptying her coffee cup when she found several unknown pills sitting inside.

"She went and dumped in the sink and noticed eight brown pills," Sgt. Mark Trukki with the Madera Police Department said.

They were eight pills that she never put in her drink. Trukki says the teacher immediately went to the principal, and they alerted police.

"The pills had not dissolved, so they were still intact," he said.

The next day, students in the class were questioned about what happened. That is when one student came forward.

"And said they observed another student with a bottle of laxative pills," Trukki said.

When police confronted the 8th-grade boy, they say he confessed to it.

"He thought it would be funny, so it was more of a joke that he was playing on his teacher," Trukki explained.

But some parents like Judy Oliveri say something like that is not funny.

"That is really uncalled for. Kids are here to learn, not to play jokes on students or teachers," she said. "It's just not acceptable. You don't come to school to play jokes."

The Madera Unified School District released a statement reading in part, "We cannot comment on the ongoing investigation. The health and well-being of our staff and students are our main priority."

However, the police department says the teacher who drank most of her coffee that day is okay, and the student responsible is being suspended for five days.