A Middletown couple was arrested, accused of selling heroin.
Police received a tip over the weekend that Wanda Lee Sampel, 36, and Leal R. Pickering, 58, were selling heroin out of their third-floor home at 44 Rome Ave.
On Sunday, an officer noticed that Sampel’s brake light was out and stopped the car, police said.
Sampel was driving, Pickering was in the passenger seat and their child was in the back seat, according to police.
In the rear cup holder, police found a resealable plastic bag decorated with hearts, according to police.
Despite Sampel’s claims that the bag was full of Herbalife, which she said she used for weight loss. Police tested it and the results showed it was heroin, according to police.
Sampel and Pickering were taken into custody and held on a bond and their child remained with a family friend.
Sampel and Pickering were both charged with risk of injury to a child, possession of a controlled substance, distribution of controlled substance less than 1,500 from a school and possession with intent to sell
Sampel was also charged with operating a motor vehicle when registration or license is suspended, failure to have stop lamps/turn signals and device obstructing windshield.
Bond for both was set at $150,000 and the couple is due in court on Sept. 24.
Police said they have contacted the state Department of Children and Families.
