CINCINNATI — A Cincinnati teacher accused in a drug-trafficking case is out of jail.
Cincinnati Public Schools put Laura Morand on paid leave Friday morning, one day after police arrested her at her workplace, Evanston Academy.
At her bond hearing, attorney Mark Krombein said Morand's arrest is a case of kindness backfiring.
“In this case, no good deed goes unpunished is really correct,” Krombein said.
Krombein said the teacher took in a troubled student and gained custody of him.
“She’s known him a few years," Krombein said. "His father was tragically killed, so she actually took over custody of this young man."
The now 19-year-old lived with her occasionally, Krombein said.
“Then, he got into some trouble with drugs,” Krombein said.
On Nov. 2, police showed up at her house with a search warrant. Assistant Prosecutor David Wood told the judge in Friday’s bond hearing that officers found 33 grams of heroin, fentanyl or a mix of the two.
“A large amount of narcotics were recovered in plain view of inside that location during the execution of the search warrant,” Wood said.
Officers arrested Morand a month later at school, accusing her of knowingly permitting her house to be used for the commission of a felony drug abuse offense. Krombein, however, keyed in on one detail he said police mentioned the day they searched her home.
“They said to her at the time that she was the most clueless person that they'd ever met, and I think that, in a way, was a compliment, because she’s not into drugs or doesn't have any knowledge of those type of things,” Krombein said.
Krombein said the 19-year-old has not been arrested.
The judge agreed to let Morand out of jail on her own recognizance. He said two questions remain: will she be indicted, and if she is, what will the final charge become? Right now, it’s a felony that carries up to a year in jail.
WCPO 9 submitted a public records request to obtain the teacher’s personnel file. CPS said it will be available next week.
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