Woman Faces Heroin Charge After Passing Out in a Wheelchair at JC Penney

A 26-year-old Racine woman was charged Tuesday in Waukesha County Circuit Court with heroin possession after a  manager found her passed out in a wheelchair near the front entrance of the store.

On Nov. 9, the Penney’s store manager reported a woman “who looked to be in her 40s” passed out in a wheelchair by the front doors. That woman turned out to be Nicole Schroeder, who turned 26 on Oct. 16.

When police made contact with Schroeder, she was lethargic and speaking incoherently. Schroeder told police she had taken her medication – and washed it down with alcohol – earlier that morning. Schroeder added that she had done heroin the night before. For further proof, officers found a plastic syringe in her purse.

Schroeder was also on probation for prior offenses and both drinking alcohol and doing heroin were in violation of her probation. A correctional officer later found a small amount of heroin in Schroeder’s possession while searching her at the jail.

Schroeder is being held on $500 bail at the Waukesha County Jail, and she is charged with one felony count of narcotics possession in the Waukesha County Circuit Court.