Judge rejects defense challenges in Springboro teacher’s criminal case

Efforts to derail the case against a Springboro teacher accused of endangering children by permitting drug abuse in her home — a case that also implicated her teenage son — have been denied.

Amy Panzeca, a long-time fifth-grade teacher, is scheduled for trial beginning on Jan. 28 in Warren County Common Pleas Court.

Judge Donald Oda II denied motions by Panzeca’s lawyer to quash the indictment, undermine the findings of an undercover investigation and unmask a confidential informant.

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“The defendant has not established the existence of any document, material or tangible thing that is favorable” to Panzeca’s case, Oda said in one of his rulings filed on Aug. 20.

Also, the 12th District Court of Appeals in Middletown rejected her son’s appeal on Monday.

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A status conference scheduled for Wednesday in Amy Panzeca’s case was canceled.

Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell indicated all that was left was a plea or trial in the case.

Panzecas’ lawyers did not respond to questions about their plans.

A final conference is scheduled for Jan. 22, prior to the trial.

In hearings in April and August, lawyer Andrea Ostrowski pressed Springboro patrolmen and agents from the Warren County Drug Task Force.

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The last hearing, on Aug. 8, ended with Oda ordering prosecutors to turn over newly discovered evidence.

But the judge denied every motion Ostrowski filed in hopes of the setting aside the case, setting the stage for Wednesday’s hearing in the case filed more than a year ago, on Aug. 14, 2017.

Oda also rejected Panzeca, 49, for treatment in lieu of conviction in January.

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The undercover investigation culminated in a raid on May 19, 2017, on the Panzeca home in the Settlers Walk planned community. Panzeca’s son and his friends were found hiding in the basement.

She was accused of helping him obtain Bitcoin he used to purchase LSD he sold in Springboro. Juvenile Court Judge Joe Kirby said the Panzeca home was known as the community’s “party house.”

Panzeca had been on paid leave, but she was switched to unpaid leave recently and her spot in a 5th grade classroom in Springboro has been taken.

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