J.D. Gallop, and Brian McCallum

Florida Today

Brevard Public Schools Superintendent Desmond Blackburn issued a tersely-word statement about two coaches and school district employees who federal investigators suspect of running a large-scale drug distribution operation.

At least one of the coaches has also been suspended from his duties with a community sports group.

“There is an expectation from our community that I provide the highest level of transparency and open communications of both the good and challenging incidents that impact our district. This is why I wanted to release a thorough disclosure of the personnel background of recently arrested BPS employees,” Blackburn said.

"The deplorable actions of these individuals does not reflect the character of our 9,000 quality staff members who tirelessly serve the students of Brevard County," he said.

The school district stated today that it is implementing a series of new practices to ensure stronger vetting of its instructors, coaches and other employees after learning one of the men failed to disclose a criminal charge.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Orlando filed federal charges against the two men, Leonard Charles Agee Jr., 40, Titusville, and 36-year-old Benjamin Jenkins, Mims, for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Both could face up to 20 years in prison. The school district has also sent the two men letters informing them that they will be terminated from employment.

The men also garnered longtime reputations for working with children, with Agee also working as an instructional assistant at Titusville High School and Jenkins working at Imperial Estates Elementary in Titusville.

The pair were released from federal holding on $50,000 bond each.

Federal investigators said Agee led the operation and would meet with Jenkins to coordinate efforts to distribute drugs ranging from marijuana and cocaine to heroin and prescription pills.

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The arrests of Agee and Jenkins stunned many in Brevard’s sports community.

Corey Williams, 28, of Palm Bay, runs a semi-pro basketball team called the Space Coast Stars. Agee, who he’s known more than eight years, was his head coach.

“It caught everyone off-guard,” Williams said. “Nobody’s perfect, but I know he has a passion for coaching youth, and I know he would never put anybody’s child in harm’s way. Granted, he might have made a mistake that nobody saw coming.”

Williams said Agee has been suspended until further notice from coaching the Stars, but he’s hopeful Agee will come through this period as a better person.

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The school district had performed background checks on both men when they applied to work.

After school officials learned of the federal investigation — the third high profile investigation to end in arrests of school employees this year — a search of their employment history of the two men was undertaken.

School district investigators found that Agee was properly certified for his coaching position and instructional assistant job but that Jenkins, who was initially denied employment in 2011 before being named as a coach at Astronaut High, failed to disclose a misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia charge on a 2013 application with the district. Jenkins also received an oral warning for performance in February and attended a conference to discuss his performance in November 2015, records show.

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Today, school officials said the non-disclosure would have eliminated him from consideration for at least one year. The district also updated its practice to include a zero tolerance policy for employees who fail to disclose any arrests or criminal history. A revised background check system is also in place to centralize information about job candidates and update security clearances, officials said.

“I consider these actions as a personal offense that will not be tolerated while I am superintendent and will continue to hold accountable those individuals who would betray our trust in this manner,” Blackburn said of the drug dealing that federal prosecutors said the men carried out.