Catholic School Teacher Joshua J. Schwartz Arrested in Pot Bust
Joshua J. Schwartz, 30, a language arts teacher at St. Ambrose Catholic school in Tuscon, Arizona, was arrested in connection with a marijuana growing operation. Schwartz taught sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders.
His arrest is a result of an incident when when police searched a house in response to a report of a burglary in progress. Neighbors reported seeing a bunch of kids entering and exiting through the back of the home, and said they were carrying large trash bags filled with unknown items. (Hmmmmm…drug runners?)
When officers arrived, they found the back door open. They entered to search for suspects or victims, but no one was at home. However, the police found evidence of someone growing marijuana.
When police were searching the home, Schwartz arrived and was taken into custody on suspicion of unlawful possession of marijuana for sale and unlawful possession of narcotic paraphernalia. Uh oh. He was released the next day on bail.
After he was indicted, Schwartz was placed on unpaid leave at St. Ambrose. The principal sent out a letter to parents stating that their kids were never in harm’s way.
By the way, this is not the first time Schwartz has been in trouble with the law about pot. Court records show he pleaded not guilty to involvement with marijuana 10 years ago.
For some reason this either did not show up in his background check when he was recently hired at St. Ambrose Catholic School. (This was his first year teaching.) Or maybe they did not think a 10-year-old charge was important enough to not hire him. Either way, the school has already found another language arts teacher to replace him.
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