Westmoreland County’s Park Police typically arrest a person or two every month for bringing illegal drugs in to the downtown Greensburg courthouse.
A recent arrest was the first time in recent memory that a county employee was the person who was charged, Chief Henry Fontana said Friday.
“Everybody is subject to a search when they come in the front door,” Fontana said.
Danielle Lee Haley, 28, of Penn Township, was charged Nov. 25 with two misdemeanor drug counts when park police found a small amount of marijuana in a zipped plastic bag and a glass pipe in her bag as she entered the building at around 2 p.m.
Haley worked as a cashier in the county treasurer’s office on the first floor of the courthouse.
Treasurer Jared Squires said he could not comment on the arrest.
Controller Jeffrey Balzer said Haley was hired in May 2018 and earned an annual salary of $29,372. She resigned this week.
Park police made about 16 drug arrests this year at the courthouse, Fontana said. Visitors have attempted to bring in marijuana, methamphetamine and heroin into the building.
Park police officers monitor the front and rear entrances to the courthouse. Visitors and employees are required to pass through metal detectors, and all bags are scanned by X-ray machines to identify prohibited items such as drugs and weapons.
Most arrests made at the courthouse involve visitors attempting to enter with weapons such as daggers, switch blades and brass knuckles — all of which are illegal to possess, Fontana said.
Licensed guns, small knives, pepper spray are examples of other objects that, while legal to possess, are barred from the courthouse complex and are confiscated upon entry into the buildings. Those items are returned to visitors when they leave, Fontana said.
