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Allegheny County special education teacher Charles Schaldenbrand, 44, allegedly kept a coffee can outside stuffed with heroin packets that he used to dispense drugs to an informant, police said Thursday. Ironically, the teacher rented the home from the local police chief.

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Officials in an Allegheny County school district are trying to assure the public that a teacher accused of selling heroin from his home never peddled the drug on school property.

That is the one note of good news coming out of the story in Robinson Twp., where the Montour High School has been rocked by the charges.

According to TribLive.com in Pittsburgh, special education teacher Charles Schaldenbrand, 44, allegedly kept a coffee can outside stuffed with heroin packets that he used to dispense drugs to an informant, police said Thursday.

Ironically, the teacher rented the home from Robinson Police Chief Dale Vietmeier, the newspaper reported, adding:

Schaldenbrand is charged with five felonies, including two counts of delivery of heroin, two counts of possession with the intent to deliver heroin and one count of criminal use of a communication facility, the attorney general's office said.

Using a confidential informant, agents made two purchases from Schaldenbrand in December for a total of $350 worth of heroin, according to a criminal complaint cited by TribLive.

According to WPXI-TV, on one occasion, Schaldenbrand had the informant get the heroin from a coffee can that was outside. He had the informant leave the money in the can.

On another occasion, Schaldenbrand had the informant get the heroin from a blue bag in a garbage can and put the money in his car.

The school district announced that the teacher was placed on paid suspension earlier this week after district officials were notified of the drug investigation:

"He is on paid suspension until at least his preliminary hearing and has been directed to have no contact with schools or to go on school property, which is standard in these sort of situations," district Solicitor Ira Weiss told TribLive.

Weiss added that there is no indication that Schaldenbrand sold drugs on school property.