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Wednesday, March 22, 2006 First-grade teacher arrested on meth chargeValencia A first-grade teacher who told police she was at a rural Los Lunas elementary school shortly after midnight Sunday grading papers was arrested on charges of possession of methamphetamines. Joanna Chavez, 37, of Peralta has been charged with one first-degree felony count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute on school grounds. Magistrate Danny Hawkes entered a not guilty plea on Chavez's behalf Monday afternoon and set a $200,000 cash or surety bond.
According to Valencia County Sheriff Richard Perea, Deputy Joseph Martinez spotted two vehicles that appeared to be blocking the entrance to the school early Monday morning. After running the license numbers, the deputy realized that he knew one of the owners of the vehicles from prior investigations and became suspicious. When Martinez's supervisor, Sgt. John Gordon, arrived at the school, the two officers looked through a window and noticed a small plastic bag with a white powdery substance inside the truck, Perea said. A few minutes later, Chavez walked out of the school and asked the deputies what they wanted. "The deputies asked her about the person who owned the second vehicle, she told them that he was inside (the school)," Perea said. "She told the deputies that she was at the school grading papers." According to the criminal complaint, Chavez took the deputies to her classroom where they found the lights were off. Chavez opened the door and asked a man who was inside to come out. "(The man) walked out into the hallway; at this time I asked (him) if I could search him for his and our safety and he agreed," Martinez wrote in the criminal complaint. "In his right front pocket, I found a hypodermic needle ... at which time (he) stated he was a diabetic and was real nervous." After Chavez and the man, who has not been charged, were taken outside, the deputies obtained permission from school officials to check the classroom. Perea said the deputies found an open purse next to the teacher's desk. "In plain view, the deputies found what appeared to be several baggies of a white powdery substance inside the purse," the sheriff said. "They also saw several butane lighters, a digital scale and personal checkbook and a ledger of moneys. The powdery substance was later field tested positive for meth." Valencia County Sheriff's Detective Rene Rivera said the deputies found seven grams of methamphetamine in the purse, which Chavez later told police was hers. Rivera estimated the street value of the methamphetamine to be about $2,800. The man found in the classroom has not been charged, but the sheriff said the investigation is continuing. Detectives are in the process of getting a search warrant for the vehicles, which were towed away from the school. In the meantime, school officials have relocated Chavez's first-grade students to another classroom and are having an environmental firm test the room for any contaminants. "We're taking every precaution to making sure the classroom hasn't been compromised," said Moffatt. "We don't think it has been compromised, but we want to check and see if anything was contaminated. "Our first concern is student and staff safety and we are doing everything to make sure that they are protected. I'm hoping we'll have the results of the testing by Tuesday afternoon." Both Perea and Rivera said that while they don't believe the alleged drugs found in the classroom spilled onto the floor or any surface in the classroom, they recommend that the room be thoroughly cleaned. "Methamphetamine is a very volatile substance which, if it comes in contact with the skin, it could become a very serious situation," Perea said. Rivera explained that a person's sweat glands can absorb the drug, causing effects similar to those observed in recreational use. "And, if this happened to a child, it could be deadly," he said.
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