The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday morning arrested a Physical Education teacher at Pleasant Grove Elementary School and charged her with selling and possessing marijuana.
Kimberly Hellenburg, 55, was arrested on active Citrus County arrest warrants, the CCSO said
She was charged with two counts of selling marijuana and two counts of possession of marijuana. This occurred after narcotics detectives with the Sheriff’s Office’s Tactical Impact Unit concluded a several-week investigation into illegal sales from her home at 6716 E. Blue Heron Lane in Inverness.
During the investigation, the CCSO said, detectives were able to purchase large amounts of marijuana from Hellenburg. During the execution of a search warrant, detectives located more than two pounds of marijuana in the home, distribution equipment and at least one-half pound of marijuana in Hellenburg’s bedroom.
Hellenburg’s son, Brendan Brown, 19, was arrested at the same home on Dec. 28, 2017, when detectives served a search warrant at the residence. Brown was arrested for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute after it was learned Brown would receive large amounts of marijuana in the mail from California.
It was learned Hellenburg was a teacher at a local elementary school late in the investigation, TIU Sgt. Ed Blair said. “It was important to us that after learning of her career as a teacher and the influences she has on our young children that she be arrested before students returned to school from winter break,” Blair said. After the arrest, school board officials were notified and made aware of the charges.
The specific charges are as follows:
- Two counts Sale of a Controlled Substance and two counts Possession of a Controlled Substance.