UPDATE Westport Police Captain Sam Arciola credits the discreet placement of video surveillance for the arrest of a Coleytown Elementary School librarian charged with stealing prescription painkillers.
Sarah M. Spencer: 22-year school employee. WN file photo
Sarah M. Spencer, 47, of Trumbull, a 22-year employee of the Board of Education, turned herself in at police headquarters at 8 a.m. Wednesday, he said.
Police said she had been caught twice on video stealing the narcotic painkiller Hydrocodon from the purse of another teacher, a purse which had been locked inside a filing cabinet.
Charged with two counts of sixth-degree larceny, illegally obtaining drugs, possession of narcotics, and the added charge of possession of narcotics within 1,500 feet of a school, Spencer’s bond was set at $10,000. The former two charges are misdemeanors, the latter two are felonies.
Unable to make bond, she was immediately arraigned in Norwalk Superior Court where she pleaded not guilty and was released on a promise to appear, court documents show. Her next court date was set for Jan. 27.
According to Arciola, the surveillance was set up in mid-December after a Coleytown teacher reported the theft of her prescription pills.
“We’re very discreet about how we handle things, especially something like this,” Arciola said about the camera placement.
The camera showed Spencer stealing the pills from the locked cabinet on two occasions in December, crimes to which she later admitted to the police.
Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon refused to comment on the case, saying that it was a personnel matter and a matter being handled by the police.
Spencer’s arrest was the second time this week that Coleytown Elementary involved police activity.
On Monday Principal Janna Bell called 911 and had the school evacuated after an 8-year-old third grader told friends he had a grenade in his bag. The grenade was a dud, the kind of curio offered for sale in Army & Navy stores or in novelty shops as cigarette lighters.
I am very, very sad to hear this. I have known and have had very warm feelings for Sarah Spencer since she was my 21 year old’s elementary school teacher many years ago. She is a very kind and loving person, so proud of her family and always willing to help others. This news is heartbreaking and I pray that she gets the help she needs.
I too am very upset. Something went wrong here because Sarah Spencer is one of the kindest women I know and an excellent librarian (or media specialist). I hope that she will be able to get the help and that our town will continue to love and support her.
We all love you Sarah!!!!!!
I know Sarah as both a colleague and as an educator to both my daughters. Sarah is a wonderful human being who obviously made a mistake. Let us be fair here and look at the whole picture. If anyone deserves to be given support after all she has given to our community,it is Sarah Spencer.
Karen Siegel
Getting to know Sarah Spencer when I was a library volunteer at Coley El, and as a fellow mom, too, I just couldn’t help but be impressed by her creatively inspiring ways with the kids, her unflaggingly kind and encouraging smile, and her saintly patience. She made that library shine! It is my hope that she can come out on the other side of this difficult situation, stronger and well, that wonderful smile intact.
Our family has known Sarah Spencer for years and echo the same thoughts posted above; she was a wonderful educator and champion for all our children at CES. We pray she receives the same compassion and support she has always offered to others, and that she gets the help she needs to conquer these challenges. When ready, we hope she is welcomed back into the CES community with all of this healed and behind her. It is regrettable that these details have to be so public and we look forward to an equally-public comeback!