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4 Students Offered Probation Deals In Columbia University Drug Ring Case

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - New York prosecutors are offering no-jail plea deals to four of the five Columbia University students charged with selling LSD-spiked candy and other drugs on the Ivy League campus.

The city Special Narcotics Prosecutor's office said Tuesday it would agree to probation if the four pleaded guilty to felony charges stemming from their December arrests.

Prosecutors want a year in prison for the fifth student, Harrison David, who faces the most serious charges related to cocaine sales.

None of the students accepted the offers Tuesday. All but David are seeking what's known as "diversion'' to drug-abuse treatment.

WCBS 880's Irene Cornell On The Case

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Under that plan, they could get the charges dismissed or lowered to misdemeanors if they succeed in treatment. Prosecutors object to diversion for them.

Prosecutors say some of the students claimed they needed the drug money to cover tuition.

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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