Monica Quintero, 31, Andrew Zick, 31, and James Zipperer, 30, and 34-year-old Mackinley Breeden were all arrested Tuesday on multiple first-degree-felony drug charges.
According to the Montgomery County Pct. 4 Constable's Office, officers were dispatched to an apartment complex on Valley Ranch Crossing Drive in Porter after they received several complaints about strange odors coming from a first-floor apartment.
Officers arrived and knocked on the door of Quintero's apartment. She gave them consent to search the apartment, and that's when they say they found an assortment of narcotics including more than 100 grams of heroin; 53 grams of GHB, a date rape drug; 15.2 grams of liquid heroin; and numerous pills including Oxycontin, Xanax and Adderall.
Inside Quintero and Zick's bedroom, deputies found more drugs and scales typically used to weigh illegal drugs. Authorities also discovered more than $10,000 in cash along with receipts for items purchased to make the heroin lab in their kitchen area.
Zipperer, a third roommate, had more than $1,000 cash and admitted trading illegal narcotics for valuables, say investigators. In his room, deputies found syringes, scales, plastic bags and black tar heroin, the same drug that was blamed for actor Philip Seymour Hoffman's death in early February.
Authorities also confiscated at least eight weapons, including a stolen 9mm and the frame of another stolen pistol.
"We've heard heroin was making a comeback in some areas, but until (Tuesday), we weren't really seeing it in East County," Precinct 4 Constable Kenneth Rowdy Hayden said in a prepared statement. "It was disturbing to find a lab set up in a family apartment complex adjacent to a neighborhood and in such close proximity to an elementary school."
Hayden says what's even more disturbing is that Quintero is a first-grade bilingual teacher at Humble ISD's Ridge Creek Elementary School.
"I think it's ridiculous. I'm also an elementary school teacher. I think that it's completely unprofessional and completely disgusting to know that she's teaching children of our area," neighbor Lindsie Stafford said.
In response to Quintero's arrest, Humble ISD issued the following statement:
"With the arrest, the teacher is immediately put on leave while the charges work their way through the court system. District officials are now in the process of obtaining information about the allegations from Montgomery County officials. The district works cooperatively with law enforcement for the safety and welfare of all students."
Quintero is currently in the Montgomery County Jail on three charges of manufacture delivery of a controlled substance. She is being held on a total of $100,000 in bonds.
Breeden is charged with three counts of manufacture delivery of a controlled substance. He is being held without bond.
Zipperer is being held on three counts of manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance with a $100,000 bond.
Zick is charged with one count of manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance with no bond and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
