Posted on Thu, Jul. 19, 2012

A kindergarten teacher was arrested while trying to break into the same home for the third time in three months, Miami-Dade police said.

A witness spotted Reina Herrera, 32 — a seven-year teacher at Earlington Heights Elementary in Miami — near the house at 3520 SW 59th Ave. on Tuesday and called police. It was the teacher’s second arrest since 2010, records show.

In Herrera’s car, police said they found three bags with what they suspect is heroin. They also found a needle, a spoon, and a tourniquet. They also found checks worth almost $600. The checks had been reported stolen on July 6.

According to an arrest affidavit, Herrera confessed that she had broken into the house on May 10 and 17. It’s unclear if Herrera knew someone who lived in the home.

In the first incident, she allegedly took $3,500 from the home, and the second time she lifted an engagement ring worth $1,000, a pearl necklace worth $500, and $1,000 in cash.

Public records show that Herrera was arrested in 2010 on a burglary charge but avoided prosecution and received court-supervised treatment.

The Miami-Dade schools said it has opened an investigation into Herrera.

She appeared in court on Wednesday, and her bail was set at $23,000.