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AUGUST 23, 2000

A Rio Arriba County jury has acquited a former substitute teacher of trafficking heroin in a school zone in Espanola, New Mexico.

Yvette Martinez acknowledged she shot up heroin while on the job in 1998 but denied selling it within 1,000 feet of the Espanola Middle School. Her addiction was discovered after she was found one day high on heroin after shooting up the drug.

In her opening argument in the case, Martinez' lawyer said "[h]eroin gave [Martinez] the confidence to go to Northern New Mexico Community College and work toward doing something with her life."

A police informant had testified Martinez sold him heroin near school grounds and in a school hallway.

The school services students from the city of Espanola and from the Pueblos of Santa Clara and San Juan. It is now the first school in the state to institute comprehensive drug testing for employees.

Get the Story:
Ex-Teacher Cleared of Heroin Dealing (The Albuquerque Journal 8/23)