CA NEWS: Riverside Teacher Accused of Giving Fentanyl to Students

An employee at a special needs school in Riverside was arrested Tuesday after police received a tip accusing her of giving fentanyl to students.

Riverside police responded around 4:30 p.m. to a report of a student who was out of control at the Bright Futures Academy.

Police learned that a student at the school had overdosed on fentanyl at home a week earlier.

Melissa Harloam-Garrison, 46, is a bus driver and campus security guard suspected of giving the student and other kids the drug.

Officers searched Harloam-Garrison’s home which is located on the school campus and reportedly found more than a hundred suspected fentanyl pills, two handguns and various types of ammunition.

Harloam-Garrison was arrested and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on charges of child endangerment and various illegal drug and firearms violations. She is being held on $50,000 bail.

Her husband, David Garrison, 58, was also arrested and booked on charges of possession of a firearm on campus and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. His bail was set at $25,000.

The school serves special needs students between kindergarten and 12th grade.

-Jeff Lemucchi