Kirstin Dempsey, 33, was arrested at about 3 p.m. Wednesday when sheriff's deputies served a search warrant at her home in the 3400 block of Kenilworth Lane as part of an ongoing investigation into the sale of drugs there, Santa Cruz County sheriff's officials said.
Deputies found 6.7 grams of heroin, packaging materials, cash and other items related to drug sales at the home and arrested Dempsey on suspicion of possession of heroin for sale, according to the sheriff's office.
Dempsey has worked as a part-time counselor for about a year at the Santa Cruz office of ALTO Counseling Center, which is part of the Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center, according to Will O'Sullivan, the center's director of adult substance abuse treatment services.
"As we learned of this, we suspended her as the court process proceeds," O'Sullivan said.
"Of course we're looking into the circumstances and will take appropriate personnel action," he said, adding that the details of the case that have been released by the sheriff's office were "very concerning."
