Recent Prosper graduates recall chaos, sickness at senior lock-in: "Dropping like flies"
Nick Wall vividly recalls the night when attendees at a Prosper senior celebration event became sick after ingesting THC-infused gummies.
"It was like they were just dropping like flies," Wall told CBS News Texas.
Wall joined fellow graduates Carter Gerhardt and Adam Shin in remembering the chaotic night, which left multiple students hospitalized and two classmates facing felony drug charges.
Witnesses describe sudden illness
CBS News Texas
Wall, Gerhardt and Shin described the event as alarming and disorienting, recalling how students suddenly began collapsing or becoming violently ill.
"Whenever I saw it happen, I was just a little bit confused," Gerhardt said. "I was like, 'What's going on?' I just saw a ton of people just dropping."
"Some girl went up to the police officer — you could tell she was really sick," Wall said. "She was throwing up and asked the officer to call her parents. And then like more people started just getting sick."
Police confirm hospitalizations, arrests
According to Prosper police, the incident occurred during Prosper's Graduation Celebration — a senior lock-in event attended by students from all three district high schools.
Police confirmed that at least seven students were transported to the hospital from the May event with symptoms consistent with a drug overdose.
Two students — 17-year-old Kyle Muchineuta of Walnut Grove High School and 18-year-old Cesar Omana of Rock Hill High School — were arrested and charged with second-degree felonies for the manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance.
Gummies allegedly purchased, shared
According to arrest records, Omana allegedly purchased a package of THC-infused gummies from A&A Smoke Shop in Plano using money collected from other students. Investigators believe both Omana and Muchineuta distributed the gummies at the event.
Shin, who witnessed the distribution, said he was offered the gummies but declined.
"I saw most people get them at the party," Shin said, "and they asked me, you know, do you want to use this? And my mom told me, 'Don't do drugs.' So I never, ever."
Smoke shop not contacted
The owner of A&A Smoke Shop told CBS News Texas that neither police nor investigators have contacted him or requested surveillance footage related to the incident.
Attorney defends accused student
Omana's attorney, Jeremy Rosenthal, issued a statement on Friday defending his client:
"Nobody feels worse about people getting sick than we do," Rosenthal said. "That said, I don't understand how purchasing something which appears to be perfectly legal, in packaging indicating it's perfectly safe, and then providing it to others is a crime at all — much less one worthy of publicly destroying the life of an 18-year-old and calling him a drug dealer."
Reflection and ongoing investigation
Reflecting on the night, Gerhardt said, "I think it was just a situation where a few people ruin it for everybody."
As of Friday, Prosper police declined to comment on whether they have contacted A&A Smoke Shop, citing the ongoing investigation. Toxicology reports for the hospitalized students are expected as early as next week.
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