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Leslie Minter Johnson (Henrico County Detention Center) Mills E. Godwin High School (WRIC screenshot)
A 47-year-old high school nurse in Virginia never made it into the building for the start of the 2023 school year after she was pulled over in the school’s parking lot on the first day of classes last week and charged with a spate of drug offenses involving meth and cocaine, among others.
Leslie Minter Johnson, a nurse at Mills E. Godwin High School, was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with two counts of possessing synthetic drugs and one count each of possessing cocaine and possessing methamphetamine, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
The latter two charges are felonies, while the synthetic drugs charges are misdemeanors.
According to a report from Petersburg, Virginia ABC affiliate WRIC-TV, Johnson, a licensed nurse for more than 20 years, was driving to the high school for work at about 8:46 a.m. on Aug. 17 when officers with the Henrico Police Department conducted a traffic stop on her vehicle. The initial reason Johnson’s vehicle was stopped was because she was reportedly driving with expired inspection tags.
The traffic stop was conducted so close to the school that police say Johnson actually came to a stop in the Godwin High School parking lot.
“The traffic stop was initiated on eastbound Ridgefield Parkway, with the driver pulling into the Godwin High School parking lot,” a Henrico Police Department spokesperson said in a statement to Law&Crime. “The officer approached the vehicle and made contact with the driver, Leslie Minter Johnson. The officer observed several items of drug paraphernalia within the vehicle. Once additional officers arrived on the scene, they conducted a search of the vehicle. Officers located several drugs and drug-related items within the vehicle.”
The police department did not immediately respond to a message from Law&Crime seeking additional details.
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Following the arrest, Henrico County School District spokesperson Ken Blackstone told WTVR that Johnson had been temporarily suspended from her position with the school.
“Henrico County Public Schools has an employee named Leslie M. Johnson who is currently on administrative leave as part of an ongoing personnel matter,” Blackstone reportedly told the station.
As a result of the stop, Johnson was also charged with operating a motor vehicle with a revoked or suspended license and operating a motor vehicle with an expired rejection sticker, records show.
Court records show that Johnson in February was charged with one count of misdemeanor petit larceny from an incident that took place on Jan. 27, 2023. While the circumstances surrounding that charge are unclear, records show the case was ultimately dismissed in May 2023.
Johnson’s defense attorney, Nikita Wolf, did not immediately respond to a message from Law&Crime seeking comment on her client’s case.
Johnson was being held in the Henrico County Jail without bond as of Tuesday afternoon, jail records show. She is currently scheduled to appear for her next court date on Oct. 19.
Authorities are urging anyone with information about Jhonson’s arrest and charges was asked to contact Henrico Police at 804-501-5000 or Crime Stoppers at 804-780-100.
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