Baby sitter accused of having drugs
BUTLER TWP — A Center Township woman is accused of having suspected heroin and hypodermic needles in the same motel room with a 5-year-old child who she was baby-sitting.
Butler Township police say they found Katie Ann Schultz, 33, with the drugs and other contraband last week at the Super 8 on Route 8 south.
They also found that Schultz — who has 25 felony convictions — was wanted on a bench warrant, which temporarily landed her in the Butler County Prison.
Police on Monday charged her with child endangerment, reckless endangerment and possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.
Officers were called to the motel about 11:30 a.m. May 2 for a report of a screaming child in one of the rooms. The child was calling out for his mother.
Police found Schultz and the boy, who she identified as her son, in the room. Officers would subsequently learn that was not true, according to investigators.
The defendant claimed the child was crying after he bumped his head.
While in the room, one of the officers noticed a plastic bag between two pillows on one of the beds. The bag contained suspected heroin, police said.
In all, according to court documents, police seized 15 stamp bags and five empty bags of heroin and two uncapped syringes during a search of the room. The needles, police said, were hidden under a mattress and box spring.
Schultz told police that a friend of hers had earlier been in the room and used a needle on one of the beds, documents said.
Officers arrested the defendant on the warrant that was issued April 17 after she failed to appear for a probation violation hearing stemming from a 2016 case of possessing drug paraphernalia, court records showed.
Schultz's mother, 61-year-old Carol Schultz of Center Township, eventually showed up at the motel. She said she is the boy's legal guardian, having adopted him after his biological mother died.
Police Lt. Matthew Pearson said authorities later corroborated that account.
But in accordance with a “safety plan” previously imposed by Butler County Children and Youth Services, documents said, the defendant was not permitted to be alone with the boy.
The plan, which was set up April 20, was for 30 days and it prohibited Katie Ann Schultz from having “unsupervised contact” with the child, according to a police affidavit.
Court records showed that in addition to being a repeat felon, the defendant has convictions in six misdemeanor drug cases.
Despite the safety plan, Carol Schultz admitted that her daughter was baby-sitting the boy May 2.
Police would not say if Carol Schultz could be charged in the case.
“It's still under investigation,” Pearson said Tuesday.
CYS, he said, has custody of the boy.
Katie Ann Schultz was placed in the county prison on the warrant. She was released that same day after the warrant was lifted.
Her latest charges were to be sent by summons from the office of District Judge Kevin O'Donnell. Her preliminary hearing is set for June 8.
Katie Ann Schultz could not be reached for comment. It was not known if she has an attorney.
