In a letter to Hopewell Valley School District parents today, Superintendent Thomas Smith announced a school custodian has been arrested. His letter, in full, reads:
“Last night, the Hopewell Valley police arrested a district night custodian on the Timberlane Campus in possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia for personal use. The officers responded to TMS around 9:00 pm for a custodian in need of medical assistance. Further investigation found the custodian to have a warrant for an unrelated minor offense in another municipality. They placed the custodian under arrest and found him in possession of heroin. No students or staff were in the school at the time of the arrest. We have no evidence he had contact with any students and the individual will not return to the district.
“The spaces that the individual worked in were searched and cleaned. No drugs, residue and/or paraphernalia were found. We are taking this matter seriously and feel that it is important that we share this information with the community to avoid the spread of inaccurate information. Please know that all district employees, including this individual, are subject to background checks prior to their employment; however, the nature of the minor offense from another municipality did not trigger notification. The District and police believe this an isolated incident.”
