(MITCHELL) – Mitchell Community School nurse Carol Sanders was arrested today after allegedly stealing student’s medication and ingesting it.
On Friday, March 8, Mitchell Police Department Resource Officer Rob German began an investigation in reference to a complaint of medication belonging to students that had gone missing.
On Tuesday, Officer German completed his investigation and forwarded his report to the Lawrence County Prosecutor.
On Wednesday, Lawrence County Prosecutors Office filed charges on a Mitchell Community School Nurse Carol Sanders.
Sanders was arrested without incident today on felony charges of official misconduct and neglect of a dependent and five misdemeanor counts of neglect of a dependent.
According to a probable cause affidavit, between February 25th and March 7th Sanders having the care of elementary school students, endangering children’s health and lives by substituting the child’s prescription medication for non-prescription medication.
Police began their investigation after Sanders asked two secretaries at Burris Elementary to do a pill count after a report of missing medication. They determined the count was off. That is when Sanders admitted to knowing the count would be off and admitted to ingesting five pills (Amphetamines), from two Burris Elementary students, and seven pills from two students at Hatfield Elementary including 20 grams of “Methyphenidate” (Ritalin) and 10 mg. tablet of Methyphenidate and 5 mg “Dexmethylphenidate” (Focalin).
Sanders admitted to replacing one of the Hatfield Elementary student’ medication with 81 mg. baby aspirin. Sanders provided a written statement and admitted in that confession of stealing 12 pills.
She immediately tendered her resignation with the Mitchell Community School system.
Sanders told police she stole the medication because she is an addict.
