Not guilty pleas entered for teacher charged in drug case

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) - A northwestern Indiana high school teacher who was charged with cocaine possession after students allegedly saw her with drugs in her classroom is due back in court in February.

Twenty-four-year-old Samantha Cox of Cedar Lake appeared Monday in Lake County Superior Court, where not guilty pleas were entered on her behalf.

Her attorney Ray Szarmach says motions haven't yet been filed by the defense in the case. A Feb. 8 hearing is scheduled.

Police were called to Lake Central High School in St. John after students told their principal they saw the English teacher with drugs Nov. 22. A probable cause affidavit said a student had video of "what appeared to be a teacher 'snorting' a line of an illegal substance" in an empty classroom.

Cox is on administrative leave.