With a substantial amount of search warrants served by the Oxford Police Department (OPD) this semester, some Miami University students have been faced with some tough decisions about their future.

According to Sgt. Jim Squance of the OPD, there have been 125 drug-related citations and more than 20 search warrants served since February.

February was the month OPD announced a new initiative by police to rigorously investigate users, buyers and sellers of illegal drugs.

Arrests have ranged from possession to trafficking of drugs such as cocaine, marijuana and Adderall, according to

police reports. The majority of the drug-related search warrants have been executed at the residences of Miami students.

OPD declined comment as to how the search warrants were executed during the past several months, citing a need to keep investigating procedures private during continuing investigations.

One student, who wished to remain anonymous, was arrested after a no-knock search warrant was served at his residence in February. He stated that OPD received information from an informant who knew him personally that lead to a search warrant of his residence.

According to the student, around 1 a.m. on a Sunday morning, OPD's Special Response Team (SRT)-a force of about eight uniformed officers with guns-was waiting for him inside his house. The anonymous student said the SRT used a battering ram to enter the house and damaged three doors.

"I had to pay $800 to replace the doors," he said. "It was a complete and total invasion of my privacy. It was a screaming example to excessive use of force."

The student was originally charged with a felony after the warrant was executed in his home. The student said that his felony was lowered to a first-degree misdemeanor by Area One Court and he avoided suspension by the university. He said he has paid more than $2,500 in court and lawyer fees.

Judge Robert H. Lyons of Area I Court in Oxford said he has signed many search warrants for OPD police officers who site probable cause. Lyons said that he has only rejected a few search warrants for lack of probable cause provided by an officer.

Lyons said that while he is not the only judge who signs search warrants in Oxford, as county judges have the same jurisdiction, he has signed several no-knock warrants for OPD officers in the last few months.

"If officer safety may potentially be compromised by the situation of to the search warrant, (a no-knock) is imposed," Lyons said. "But (they are) also served when it is believed that the (alleged drugs) being searched for could be destroyed."

Lyons also said in his nine years of sitting on the bench of Area One Court, he has always been an advocate of Fourth Amendment rights, which assert one's rights against unlawful search and seizure without probable cause.

"There is not a whole lot someone can do to complain when there are illegal substances found," Lyons said. "Someone can challenge the validity of whether evidence (leading to a search warrant) is found illegally."

As the month of April brought six search warrants and 19 drug-related arrests, local lawyer Wayne Staton said he has been defending many of the individuals cited in the drug-related arrests made by OPD. For Miami students who have been cited with drug possession or trafficking, Staton's goal is to lower the conviction to protect the student's criminal record and future.

"The real goal is to get everything down to misdemeanors," Staton said. "If someone is convicted of a felony, its likely that they will be suspended."

Staton said that for students who believe their Fourth Amendment rights have been violated in the search, the appeal process can be daunting.

"It would be expensive to fight, tens of thousands of dollars in lawyer and court fees," Staton said.

The anonymous student arrested in February questioned the OPD's use of peer informants who are working with police to lower their own felonious citations.

"The cops are telling you your life is over (when you are arrested in a drug search), and it is really scary," he said. "If someone is being charged with a felony and the possibility of jail, they feel like they're lives are ruined. There is no predicting what they will do and what they will say to avoid serious charges."