Pregnant Mentor Woman Has Court Hearing in Heroin Possession Case

A pregnant woman will have her case heard in Lake County Court of Common Pleas.

Amanda Nero, 20, of Mentor, faces charges of possessing heroin and operating a vehicle while under the influence. She is seven months pregnant.

Nero appeared this afternoon in Mentor Municipal Court and waived her preliminary hearing. Because Nero faces a felony drug charge, her case cannot be heard in Mentor Municipal Court. Instead, her case will be bound over to the higher court.

Nero came to court with her mother and attorney today.

Her mother said Nero had beaten her heroin addiction once before by using suboxone, a less-powerful narcotic that is used to wean addicts from heroin. However, Nero relapsed after the birth of her first child.

"It's the devil, plain and simple, and it steals these kids' lives," the mother told Mentor Municipal Court Judge John Trebets during the hearing.

Trebets thanked Nero's mother for coming to court, saying it showed an "unconditional love." Then he gave some advice to Nero before sending her case to the higher court.

"I don't want to get into the facts of this case, but one of the things you need to do, young lady, is take care of yourself," Trebets said to Nero. "You need to watch what you do. You need to watch who you hang out with. You need to straighten yourself out, because no one can do it for you."

If Nero is convicted of possessing heroin, she could face up to a year in prison.