Custodian accused of stealing children's medicine from Iowa City elementary school

An Iowa City man is accused of stealing children's prescription medicine from a Coralville elementary school.

According to a Coralville police criminal complaint, beginning in April 2013, officials at Kate Wickham Elementary School, 601 Oakdale Blvd., started noticing prescription medicine missing from a locked cabinet. On Sept. 9, the cabinet was damaged and 19 tablets of methylphenidate were missing. Methylphenidate is a stimulant, better known by brand names such as Ritalin, used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

School officials installed a camera and, on Sept. 18, medicine again was missing from the school's health office. The camera showed 25-year-old Jessie M. Johnson, of 230 Blackfoot Trail, prying open the cabinet.

Police said Johnson admitted to stealing the medicine on numerous occasions. Johnson is listed as a custodian on the school's website.

Johnson was arrested and faces one count of unlawful possession of prescription drugs.