An 8-month multi-agency investigation has revealed a culture of drug use at Portland's Lincoln High, one that Multnomah County's top prosecutor called "disturbing."

The probe into the cocaine overdose of Kraig Crow last August led to the arrest and guilty pleas of six people, two of them current Lincoln students.

kgw.com/Lincoln High School

Kraig Crow as shown in a Lincoln High School yearbook photo.

But it was the ease with which Crow networked and bought the lethal amount of cocaine that he snorted in Gabriel Park that prompted D.A. Mike Schrunk to send a letter to Lincoln's principal, along with documents from the investigation.

"It's unusual to send a packet to the principal," Schrunk said. "I'm sure we've just scratched the surface."

Schrunk said he's sure the problem is not confined to Lincoln High alone, and that he wrote the letter to make Crow's death "a wakeup call."

"There was kind of an undercurrent, a buzz of who knew about it," said Schrunk. He wants school and district officials to make sure students understand the importance of coming forward to an adult if they know one of their friends is involved in dangerous drugs.

Lincoln Principal Peyton Chapman agreed.

"The students knew more than the adults, the students were acting in a space that was not monitored," Chapman said. Crow reportedly sent a text message to a current Lincoln student that he wanted to buy some cocaine. That same afternoon, Crow paid $500 for a quarter ounce of the drug, according to police reports.

Last week five people entered guilty pleas in Multnomah County district court to state drug charges. They face sentences of 12 to 18 months in state prison. The two Lincoln students will be allowed to graduate before their sentences begin.

The sixth suspect is the alleged supplier in the drug dealing chain. Thirty-one-year-old Ryan Snider faces a federal drug distribution charge that carries a minimum 20 year sentence.

Current Lincoln students say there is a drug problem at their school, but other schools have one as well. Many are upset that Lincoln is the target of negative publicity.

"There's drugs everywhere you go, every school," said student Jamie Huggins. "I don't think Lincoln is as much as other schools, it is really easy to avoid."