Lori Riley Whitley, 38, and Gary Nelson Whitley, 41, both of Zebulon, North Carolina. (Photo: AP/PD)
Lori Whitley, 38, a third-grade teacher at Wendell Elementary in N.C., and her husband Gary Whitley, 41, were arrested for having a meth lab in their house. Police say the couple faces charges of manufacturing methamphetamine and child abuse, the latter of which because their eight year old son was in the home doubling as a meth lab.
Neighbors were oblivious to what was going on right next door to them. The neighbors expressed that they did not notice any suspicious activity and, in fact, one neighbor described Lori as a very “sweet person” and a friendly neighbor. However,, her husband Gary was characterized as her polar opposite — rude and “disrespectful.
Johnston County deputies said that known and obvious equipment used to make dangerous and harmful methamphetamine was found in the morning when officers served a search warrant on the Zebulan home.
Lori Whitley had been a third grade teacher for Wendell Elementary School for thirteen years. The Wake County Board of Education, which just approved a nearly $1.5 billion budget, said Lori Whitley was suspended with pay starting Friday. It isn’t the only controversy making headlines for the board recently, as a county school bus driver was accused of hitting a 7-year-old boy on a bus on May 1. Further, as recently as May 14, parents were outraged over a lackluster response to a bomb threat at Athens Drive High School.
The threat turned out to be bogus, but parents say their was no sense of urgency by administrators to contact law enforcement and first responders.
