Drugs and theft – they do go hand-in-hand. I recently wrote that 83% of new inmates to prison test positive for some drug in their system when booked (2010 report). Theft is one of the stupid things people do when taking drugs.

Take this guy for example.

Angered he was cut from the basketball team, a Wyoming Valley West High School in Pennsylvania student stole two cellphones in the school's locker room, a theft that led investigators to his drug stash.

Police said the GPS technology embedded in the phone tracked them to the teenager's drug-dealing operation at his home which is in a school zone.

Tyrek J. Williams, 18, was arrested on multiple theft and drug charges and also levied corruption of minors charges against him. Williams' younger brother is also facing drug charges as a result of the bust.

With all the drugs in the house, Uncle Tyrek was certainly not a positive influence on his nieces and nephews. Three of their older sister's children - ages 5, 4, and 1 - also live at the home.

The phones would have been useless to Williams because they are password protected and could be locked by the victim by using another computer. Smart guy - he stole something completely useless and ends up getting caught with drugs.

Two members of the swim team reported to police their cellphones were stolen while they were at practice.

They found drug-dealing materials in the bedroom of Williams' brother, including packaged marijuana, loose marijuana, plastic baggies, a digital scale and a decoy air freshener used to hide drugs.

 Williams told police earlier in the day he was angered after he was cut from the basketball team during tryouts at the high school. He admitted to stealing the phones in the locker room and taking them home. He said he was in his brother's bedroom with his brother packaging marijuana when he heard a knock at the door. He looked outside and saw police cars, believing they were there for the stolen phones. Williams said he threw the phones out a window before trying to leave the home.

Though he acknowledged his brother was with him while he packaged the marijuana, Williams tried to take all the blame, saying "the drugs are mine." He said he sells marijuana about 10 times a week to several people.

The home is located in a protected school zone, so the suspects will face stiffer penalties if convicted, police said.

Williams is charged with possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, theft, receiving stolen property, tampering with evidence and corruption of minors.

Stupid people do many stupid things. Drug addicts do stupid things. Adolescent boys, even sober ones, do stupid things. Life’s deck was certainly stacked against Uncle Tyrek. But that’s no excuse.