MARIETTA - A Marietta daycare provider Thursday was charged with selling drugs in the presence of the children for whom she cares.
Agents from the Major Crimes Task Force arrested Deidra Fouss, 51, of 722 Fifth St., at her home where she also provides child care services, said Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks.
Three children were in Fouss' care at the time of arrest. Representatives from the Washington County Department of Job and Family Services contacted their parents and make arrangements for those children, Mincks said.
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Deidra Fouss, center, was arrested Thursday morning at her residence at 722 Fifth St., Marietta, where she operates a child-care business. Fouss is accused of trafficking in drugs, a third-degree felony.
"This is crazy. I never sold nothing to anybody," Fouss told agents as they escorted her from the home.
Fouss is accused of selling 35 Vicodin pills to an informant for the Major Crimes Task Force in late October. The amount sold exceeds the bulk amount of 30 pills, elevating the crime to a third-degree felony drug trafficking charge, said Mincks.
In addition, the undercover informant noted the presence of at least three children in the house at the time of the purchase.
The task force waited around six weeks to obtain a warrant in the hopes Fouss would agree to a second drug sale. Additionally, it was determined Fouss was not actually using the drugs.
"We were trying to obtain another buy because we like to make the case stronger. We can show it was a pattern. But we were unable to get another buy from her," said Mincks.
After it became obvious that Fouss was suspicious of the undercover informant, the department immediately moved to obtain a warrant and make an arrest, he said.
Fouss was certified through the Department of Job and Family Services to provide child care from her residence, Mincks said.
"She applied to the county, to the Department of Job and Family Services. She asked for a permit to be a certified child care center," he said.
According to Job and Family Services Coordinator Kelly Bauerbach, Fouss was certified as a Type B home child care provider. Her certification enabled her to provide child care to families who were approved for subsidized child care.
Her certification enabled her to receive money from the state to help cover the cost of her child care services, Mincks said.
To be certified, Fouss went through background checks, fingerprinting, home inspections and training, Bauerbach said.
Fouss was not employed by the county or by Job and Family Services, Bauerbach said. Rather she was certified by them to operate an independent child care business, however, Fouss' certification was revoked Thursday, she said.
Parents who used her services are advised to find a permanent replacement, said Mincks.
Fouss will be arraigned today in Washington County Common Pleas Court.
