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Jessica Walters, 35, and Robert Nochella, 35, were arrested after Monroe County detectives and Children and Youth Services discovered drug paraphernalia, scales, and packaging materials scattered throughout their home on Thursday, Feb. 6, officials said. Walters was reportedly withdrawing from fentanyl during the investigation, according to the criminal complaints.
The home, where Walters and Nochella lived with their children, ages 7 and 3, was described as filthy and unsafe, with limited space to move, authorities said. Police found multiple heroin/fentanyl packets with residue in the bedroom where the children slept, investigators said.
Detectives reviewed text messages on Walters’ phone, uncovering conversations in which Nochella admitted traveling to Paterson, New Jersey, to purchase cheaper heroin for Walters’ addiction and to sell to others. Nochella reportedly confessed to selling 7–8 bags of heroin from the home on the night of the raid, leaving his children with a neighbor during his drug run.
Both children were immediately placed in protective custody, officials said.
Walters was charged with child endangerment, reckless endangerment, drug possession, and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Nochella faces the same charges, along with criminal use of a communication facility, investigators said.
Both are being held at Monroe County Correctional Facility, with preliminary hearings set for Feb. 19 before Magisterial District Judge Paul Gasper.
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