Franklin teacher arrested on drug abuse charge

A Franklin teacher has been arrested and charged with drug abuse, according to Middletown police..

Patrise Elliott was observed on Monday pulling into a Speedway gas station after a witness called police about an intoxicated driver. The officer pulled up behind Elliott’s vehicle and observed a white male, who was later identified as Eugene Allen, leaning inside the passenger door of Elliott’s vehicle, a police report says.

The officer then observed Allen hand Elliott a plastic baggie containing 15 blue pills that was later determined to be Roxycodone, which is a narcotic pain reliever that is used to treat moderate to severe pain in the body. The officer then saw Elliott hand Allen $225 in cash, according to a police report.

Elliott allegedly acknowledged that Allen gave her the pills and that she gave him the money, according to the report. Allen was arrested for trafficking in drugs, and Elliott was arrested for drug abuse, according to the report.

Franklin City School District Superintendent Arnol Elam confirmed that Elliott is a teacher within the district. He said Elliott has been with the district more than five years and is set to be a language arts teacher at the junior high school this year. She was a third-grade teacher at Anthony Wayne Elementary School last year.

“There is not a lot I can comment on yet,” Elam said. “We are working with our attorney and the union officials to see what our next steps will be.”

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