A third-grade teacher at Reno Elementary School in northeast Parker County was arrested this week after admitting to a Texas Ranger that she had been using methamphetamine in the mornings before class for about seven years.
Vickie Bruce, 46, of Poolville, was confronted by investigators Tuesday at the elementary school. She was interviewed, arrested and released that same day, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.The document also stated she was cooperating with investigators and that she was free on a $25,000 bond.Texas Ranger James Holland said in the affidavit that he learned about Bruce on Sept. 20 while interviewing a woman who admitted supplying drugs to the teacher. The woman said the teacher bought drugs "on a regular basis."She also told Holland that Bruce carried meth wrapped in foil in a photo album, "including while she was at Reno Elementary School," according to the affidavit.Holland said he confronted Bruce at the school Tuesday.The teacher said she didn't have drugs with her in the school, "but that she did have methamphetamines in her vehicle, which was parked in the Reno Elementary School parking lot."She agreed in writing to let Holland search her car and he subsequently found a photo album in her purse containing three small bags with substance that later "field tested" positive as 1.7 grams of meth, according to the affidavit.Bruce agreed to another interview the same day at Holland's office where she said that she had been buying $60 worth of meth each week for the past seven years.She also said, according to the affidavit, that she used meth "before going to work for the last seven years 'off and on.'" Bruce also said the other woman "had picked up money for methamphetamine purchases from Bruce at Reno Elementary School."The affidavit did not go into detail about the other woman's criminal history, although it did state that she had "provided Ranger Holland credible information in the past."Bruce was arrested for possession of a controlled substance in a drug-free zone. According to state law, the minimum term of confinement increases by five years for drug offenses committed within 1,000 feet of a school or on a school bus.The elementary school is part of the Springtown Independent School District. The arrest came one day after the district made national headlines when the school board trustees voted to expand a corporal punishment policy to give male administrators the authority to paddle female students.Bill Miller, 817-390-7684Twitter@Bill_MillerSTHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
