By Jim Smith

Butler Eagle Staff Writer

A Butler woman was busted with a padded bra full of marijuana and prescription pills, authorities said.

The suspect, Katherine J. Pierce, 21, was charged Tuesday in connection with the secret stash that turned up last week at the Butler County Prison.

Pierce was wanted on a county-issued bench warrant March 22 when Harrison Township police in Allegheny County arrested her. Butler County sheriff’s deputies later that day drove to get her, according to court documents.

Her return trip ended at the county prison, where she was searched. In her bra, authorities found a plastic baggie with suspected marijuana and a bag with 15 pills.

Eleven of the pills were identified as the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam. The other pills were Adderall, a drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The sheriff’s office charged Pierce with possession of a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and illegal possession of prescription drugs.

Her preliminary hearing is set for May 9 at the office of District Judge William Fullerton in Butler.

Court records showed the warrant for Pierce was issued Feb. 2 after she failed to appear for a court hearing in connection with a misdemeanor drug case last year.

Pierce was placed in the county prison to await her belated hearing. She was released Monday after appearing for her court date.