Second-Graders Tell of Sampling Cocaine

Three second-graders described in Van Nuys Superior Court Thursday how they took turns sampling “yucky” tasting cocaine found in a classmate’s backpack, then told friends it was good in order to trick them into trying it.

After nine students at Canoga Park Lutheran School had tasted the powdery substance--including one who said it made her tongue numb--the fun ended abruptly when a sixth-grader grabbed the cocaine and turned it in to the principal’s office.

The girls told their stories on the first day of the trial of Maria Christina Torres, 39, on charges of child endangerment and possession of cocaine for sale. Police said she had hidden the drugs in her daughter’s backpack.

If convicted, Torres, a Colombian citizen who lives in Topanga Canyon, could be sentenced to seven years in prison.

Sara Comden, 8, one of the three called to the stand to describe the tasting episode last June, said she and several others who sampled the “icky” powder “spit it right out on the ground.” All three said they had no idea at the time what the substance was.