Juvenile officer charged with dealing heroin near elementary school

Police arrested an Ocean County juvenile justice officer for heroin distribution when they caught her allegedly preparing to make a sale in a parking lot near an elementary school.

Erica Kotelnicki, 35, was arrested Tuesday in a Walgreens parking lot near Bayville Elementary School with heroin in her possession, the Associated Press stated in an article reported byNBC10. When police searched her home, they found more heroin, cocaine, scales and cash.

Kotelnicki has been charged with several offenses including drug possession, distribution and heroin distribution within 1,000 feet of a school, the Asbury Park Press reported.

“It is not believed that Kotelnicki, who was not working at the time of arrest, distributed narcotics while performing her job,” Berkeley Township Police Chief Karin T. DiMichele said in a statement, adding that more charges are expected.

Kotelnicki was suspended without pay from her position as a juvenile officer, the Asbury Park Press stated. She had been in that role since March 2012.

Kotelnicki’s bail has been set at $125,000, and it remains unknown if she has arranged legal representation, the AP reported at NBC10.