May 02--A Plainfield woman has been accused of selling drugs out of an apartment in Berwyn where she was employed as a caregiver, police said.
Heather A. Niemotka, 41, of the 23000 block of West Hickory Lane, was charged last week with manufactured delivery of cocaine, possession of cocaine, manufactured delivery of marijuana, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to a news release from the West Suburban Drug/Gang Enforcement Task Force.
According to the task force, Niemotka was hired to provide caregiver services to a 59-year-old woman who lived in the 6200 block of 21st Street in Berwyn. The woman needed care "due to medical limitations," police said.
Niemotka used the apartment to process and distribute drugs, police said. As part of the deal for using the apartment, Niemotka also would supply cocaine weekly to the resident, according to the news release.
"The female who rented the apartment did not have the full capacity to understand what was taking place," said Riverside police Chief Tom Weitzel, chairman of the task force, which includes several west suburban Cook County police departments.
No charges were filed against the resident, but a man described by police as her boyfriend, Randy T. Pafford, 54, of the same address in Berwyn, was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance.
Niemotka and Pafford were arrested Thursday night when police, armed with a search warrant, went to the apartment based on a tip received two days earlier by the Riverside Police Department.
During the search, police recovered about 2 1/2 ounces of cocaine, hydrocodone pills, half an ounce of marijuana, more than $1,000 in cash marked as proceeds from drug sales, and materials used in the distribution and packaging of drugs, according to the news release.
