WV teacher appears in court on drug charges

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A West Valley High School teacher accused of using a student to obtain drugs was released from the Yakima County jail Thursday after posting bail.

Authorities said Richard C. Hill, 41, was arrested Wednesday after a student provided him with Vicodin at his request.

Hill had offered better grades in exchange for the prescription painkiller, according to an arrest report filed in Yakima County Superior Court, where he made his preliminary appearance Thursday.

Bail was set at $5,000 by District Judge Kevin Roy, who was handling Superior Court proceedings for the day.

Hill was booked at the jail on charges of possessing a controlled substance and involving a minor in drug dealing. Prosecutors have until early next week to decide on formal charges against him.

His status with the West Valley School remains undetermined, school officials said Thursday.

His attorney, Greg Scott of Yakima, declined to comment on the allegations.

But he said that Hill suffers from chronic pain for which he has a prescription. He said Hill's condition was well known at school.

Nobody answered the phone Thursday evening at a Yakima phone number listed for Hill, who Scott described as a longtime local resident and former member of the Coast Guard.

The allegations against Hill surfaced this week, prompting an investigation by a drug task force.

Agents with the Law Enforcement Against Drugs task force met with one of the two students involved, as well as the student's parents, and received clearance from both the student and school officials to proceed with the investigation, according to the arrest report.

Investigators said Hill had first approached one of the students on Feb. 18 to ask the student to purchase the painkiller for him.

That student spoke to the second student, who said the drugs could be obtained, the report states.

Hill again approached the student on Tuesday and provided $100 for the purchase, according to the report.

"Hill promised the student to improve their grade if they completed (the) transaction," the report states.

On Wednesday, investigators then recorded a conversation between Hill and one of the students in which the drug transaction was discussed.

Investigators then arranged for one of the students to provide the drug to Hill. The student arrived at Hill's classroom, where the teacher met him outside and instructed him to stay out of view of surveillance cameras, according to the report.

At Hill's instruction, the student placed the pill bottle in the top drawer of Hill's desk. It was recovered there by investigators, according to the report.

West Valley Superintendent Peter Ansingh said Hill had worked for the district for two years. He was hired as a special education resource room teacher. However, this trimester he was teaching applied math classes.

He also worked as an assistant soccer coach at the school. He was a soccer coach at previous stops at Highland and Eisenhower high schools.

Ansingh said some students at the high school hadn't heard the news by Thursday morning. Others were upset or troubled by it.

"I've been touching base with the principal all day, and -- again -- not to make it too much of a circus -- the report I got was things were as normal as could be," Ansingh said.

* Reporter Adriana Janovich contributed to this report.

* Mark Morey can be reached at 509-577-7671 or mmorey@yakimaherald.com.