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Hennepin County Jail nurse charged with stealing drugs

The suspect's husband, a highly regarded deputy, also was arrested and is under investigation in Dakota County.

By ROCHELLE OLSON, Star Tribune

Last update: July 17, 2008 - 11:20 PM

A nurse who works at the Hennepin County Jail and is married to a sheriff's deputy was charged Thursday with two felony theft counts for allegedly removing methadone from the jail dispensary.

Sarah DeSpiegeleare is charged with stealing methadone intended for an inmate on two occasions over several hours, according to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. She also was charged with one count of drug possession.

DeSpiegeleare's husband, Hennepin County Deputy Steve DeSpiegeleare, a courthouse and jail guard, is well regarded by his colleagues and was recently assigned to work on logistics for the Republican National Convention.

Sarah DeSpiegeleare was arrested late Tuesday after she left her job at the jail. Freeman said the arresting officers witnessed her trying to hide something in a compartment in the car door and discovered the drugs. The Sheriff's Office had been tipped off to a possible problem by DeSpiegeleare's nursing supervisor at the jail.

A search warrant was then executed at the couple's Burnsville townhouse where they found drugs. The deputy was taken into custody and held overnight in the Dakota County Jail. He was released Wednesday on a $10,000 bond and has not been charged. He is on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.

The deputy is under suspicion for possession of narcotics in the home," Freeman said, adding that any charges against him would come in Dakota County.

Steve DeSpiegeleare declined to comment Thursday night and his lawyer, Fred Bruno, could not be reached.

Sarah DeSpiegeleare was sent late Wednesday to the Hennepin County Medical Center on a 72-hour psychiatric hold, Freeman said. She remained there Thursday night.

Her lawyer Carolyn Agin Schmidt said late Thursday she had not been informed of the charges or received a complaint. "We'll be looking into it. But the first course of action is making sure her health concerns are dealt with," Schmidt declined to detail those concerns, but said "there is a combination of things they're looking at right now."

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747

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