2 arrested on drug charges
BUTLER TWP — Police and ambulance crews were called to the same grocery store parking lot twice in less than two hours Sunday, where two Butler County women were apparently found passed out on drugs, authorities said.
One woman had to be taken to a hospital, while the other, Athena L. Tompai, 29, of Penn Township, was arrested and taken to the county prison after Butler Township police said they found her with a switchblade knife and suspected heroin.
The first emergency call to the Aldi store at the Bon Aire shopping plaza came in around 10:25 a.m. for a woman believed to have suffered an overdose, police said.
Medics were tending to the unconscious woman, later identified as Katie A. Schultz, 35, of Clearfield Township, when officers arrived.
Police said they learned that Tompai and Schultz had driven there in a car.
Schultz regained consciousness and a Butler Ambulance Service crew took her to Butler Memorial Hospital. At the hospital, she told police Tompai pulled into the parking lot “to shoot up,” according to court documents. Police further report Schultz admitted she injected her own prescription of Subutex, which is the brand name of buprenorphine, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medication to treat opioid addiction.
In the car, according to court documents, police found syringes, crack pipes, a cooking spoon and three stamp bags torn in half. One of the bags still contained suspected heroin.
Additionally, police allegedly seized a crack pipe and an illegal spring-loaded knife discovered in a purse. Investigators said Tompai told officers the items belonged to her.
Before leaving the parking lot, officers advised Tompai, whose driver's license is suspended, to call someone to pick up both her and the car. They noted she did not appear to be intoxicated.But at 12:05 p.m., police and Butler Ambulance Service were called back to the store parking lot for another woman reportedly passed out and slumped over in the driver's seat of a vehicle. The driver's door was wide open.Police got there and recognized Tompai, who appeared to be under the influence of drugs. She was arrested and taken to Butler County Prison.She was arraigned later that night on charges of possession of a prohibited offensive weapon, possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia and public drunkenness.She is being held on $5,000 bail while awaiting her preliminary hearing July 11.Schultz was booked into the county prison Tuesday night on a probation violation. Police said they also plan to charge her with possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, and public drunkenness.
