Kari Labello, 40, had planned on beginning a new job as an art teacher in the Gallia County school district Monday, but instead she’s behind bars at the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail under a $10,055 bond.
The Athens County Sheriff’s Office arrested Labello and Curtis W. Hinds, 46, of Gallipolis, after finding almost 15 pounds of marijuana, scales and more than $6,300 in cash in their home on Sunday, Aug. 25.
Deputy Jen Atkins was initially investigating a parking complaint in Athens, but smelled an odor of marijuana coming from an unattached garage, according to a news release from Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly’s Office. Search warrant in hand, Kelly’s Narcotics Enforcement Team inspected the garage, where they also found an indoor hydroponic marijuana growing method.
Kelly said Labello had been a substitute teacher in Gallia County for the past year and was scheduled to begin a job as a teacher at a Gallia County School.
Asked about the drug bust, Gallia County Schools Superintendent Wendy Halley said: “There is a regularly scheduled board meeting (Monday) night where we’ll talk about it,” but she declined to comment further.
Hinds — who is being held under a $20,055 bond — is charged with one count of cultivation of marijuana and one count of trafficking in marijuana, both third-degree felonies. Labello is charged with two counts of complicity cultivation of marijuana and one trafficking in marijuana, both third-degree felonies.
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