en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Sun, 19 May 2013 01:39:37 GMT 15 By Preston Cornish
Former Robert Frost Middle School teacher Erin Marks was sentenced to nine months in jail and 18 months probation on September 26, 2007 by the Montgomery County Circuit Court. Judge Paul Weinstein handed down the jail time after Marks pleaded guilty in July to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Another count of distribution of a controlled substance was dropped as part of a plea deal. The charges stem from a November 2006 cocaine deal Marks instigated involving an undercover officer. She was arrested February 15 of this year, after a search of the house she shared with her then-boyfriend turned up, according to police, marijuana, cocaine, drug paraphernalia, drug-cutting agents, digital scales and several thousand dollars in cash, That boyfriend, Ronald Dwyer, pled guilty to three drug-related charges in July and is facing a minimum of five years in jail when he is sentenced October 26. Marks’ attorney, David Felsen, told the Rockville Gazette that Marks was visibly upset at her sentencing. He said that, “at all times she has accepted responsibility [for her actions].” Marks was placed on administrative leave following her arrest. In April, she resigned from her position. Frost principal Dr. Joey Jones would not respond to our interview request, citing MCPS policy. Last month, Common Sense reported that this was not the first brush with the law for Marks. She was convicted of malicious destruction of property in 1998 and charged with a number of other offenses. Despite that lengthy prior record, Marks was hired as a paraeducator at Wootton. Marks was almost universally disliked by former Frost students that she taught. When asked about Marks, one student, who asked to remain anonymous said, “I always thought she was scary, but it was still crazy that she got busted.” In other Frost-related news, former teacher Joseph Ballmann’s trial begins January 28, 2008. He is charged with three counts stemming from an alleged relationship he had with a former Frost student from 2004 to 2005. ]]> Fri, 02 Nov 2007 17:08:00 GMT