SANFORD, Fla. — A Florida high school teacher was taken into custody on allegations that she trafficked fentanyl after a reporting party told law enforcement that a woman pointed a firearm at the caller, according to reports.
Seminole High School teacher Shavon Pearson, 38, was detained after police received a 911 call from a person who was reportedly startled by the presence of a gun early Saturday, according to authorities, WESH reported.
“We received a 911 call that a female driver pointed a firearm at the 911 caller,” spokesperson Bianca Gillett of the Sanford Police Department said.
Police stopped a vehicle similar in description with no taillights on, according to the New York Post.
“The officers immediately observed a cannabis blunt in plain sight,” Gillett said.
Officers proceeded search the vehicle and found some white powder, which tested “positive for fentanyl.” The narcotics weighed eight grams, which is double the amount to qualify as trafficking, the news outlet reported.
“That’s a large amount of fentanyl and we know that fentanyl can be lethal, so it’s very concerning in her occupation to be in possession of that much fentanyl,” Gillett said.
Apparently there was no firearm located in Pearson’s vehicle or on her person. According to an arrest report, the ninth-grade teacher said she had a man with her in the car earlier, and she “stated that she was set up by said person.”
Police said there’s no evidence of any setup and that, “teachers are people we, as parents, put in positions of trust. She has absolutely breached that trust.”
Pearson has been a teacher for 16 years. Since her arrest, she’s been placed on administrative leave, according to WESH.
“We don’t have any information or evidence that would indicate that that is something that she brought to campus, or any kind of drug transactions occurred on campus,” a district spokesperson told the outlet.
Pearson was released from jail Sunday afternoon after posting a $15,000 bond.
