Rekha Luther, the former dean of students at Pembroke Academy, was indicted by a grand jury this month on four felonies alleging she had fentanyl and testosterone propionate in her possession at the high school in mid-February.
Luther, a 36-year-old from Manchester, was quietly arrested at the school Feb. 17 and waived her probable cause hearing in early April. The indictment, released Friday by Merrimack County Superior Court, was handed up June 15.
She’s charged with two class B felonies – each of which could carry up to seven years in prison – and two “enhanced felonies” for the charges of possession of a narcotic in a “safe school zone.”
As an enhanced felony, possession of a controlled drug in a school zone allows an extended term of imprisonment of 10 to 30 years, according to state law.
Luther didn’t answer a phone call Friday, and her voicemail inbox was full. Her attorney at arraignment, Mike Iacopino, said he had no comment.
The indictments allege Luther had fentanyl, which is a different opioid from the one that Pembroke police said she had, heroin. Fentanyl is a far more powerful drug, but the two substances are similar enough that they can be difficult to differentiate before chemical tests are done.
Pembroke police Chief Dwayne Gilman didn’t immediately return a phone call Friday.
Luther was hired last year as the dean of students at Pembroke Academy, a role that deals largely in discipline of students, after 12 years with the Nashua School District. She was immediately placed on paid leave, earning more than $8,000 from the district before her resignation went into effect March 22.
(Nick Reid can be reached at 369-3325, nreid@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @NickBReid.)