Hazleton Police: Mahanoy woman left kids in car with 105 bags of heroin while she used fentanyl in store bathroom
By Kaylee Lindenmuth | [email protected]
HAZLETON, Luzerne County – A Mahanoy City woman is facing child endangerment and drug charges after police in the city of Hazleton said she left her kids in a car for 20 minutes with 105 bags of heroin, methamphetamine, and an uncapped needle, all while she used fentanyl in the bathroom of a convenience store.
According to Hazleton city police, the incident occurred yesterday afternoon around 5:17pm when officers were called to the One Stop in the 400 block of South Poplar for a report of a female who entered the bathroom and, after 20 minutes, had not come out.
Officers upon arrival found a 2 year old girl and 9 year old boy in the backseat of an unattended Honda Accord, owned by the woman in question, later identified as Nicole Paskovich, of Mahanoy City.
When officers spoke with Paskovich, she said she wasn’t sure how long she was in the bathroom, though others at the store said she’d been in there for 20 minutes.
Officers found that Paskovich had used three bags of fentanyl while in the bathroom and had 105 bags of heroin in her car, as well as a small amount of methamphetamine and an uncapped needle.
Paskovich was taken into custody and her kids were placed with Luzerne County Children and Youth Services. She was arraigned this morning by Magisterial District Judge Daniel O’Donnell on child endangerment and narcotics charges and committed to Luzerne County Prison on $10,000 cash bail.
“We will never accept this type of behavior in our City that endangers the welfare of children and the illegal possession of narcotics,” said city police chief Jerry Speziale in a media release.
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