Jeb Bush's daughter jailed after prescription pills found

Authorities say Noelle Bush was discovered with the pills while she was in a court-ordered drug treatment program. She is sentenced to three days in jail.

By LUCY MORGAN, Times Tallahassee Bureau Chief

© St. Petersburg Times
published July 18, 2002

Noelle Bush

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush's 24-year-old daughter was jailed Wednesday in Orlando after being found with "a bag" of prescription pills, in violation of her court-ordered drug treatment program.

Noelle Bush had entered an Orlando residential program earlier this year after being arrested on charges of prescription fraud in Tallahassee. An Orange County circuit judge on Wednesday sentenced her to three days in jail after finding her in contempt of court for violating the conditions of the treatment program.

Bush released a written statement describing the latest events surrounding his only daughter, who was in protective custody Wednesday night in a cell by herself. She will be released Friday and returned to the drug treatment center.

"My family is saddened to share that our daughter Noelle has not abided by the conditions of her drug court treatment plan," Bush said. "Unfortunately, this happens to many individuals even as they continue their journey to full recovery."

Bush said he wishes that he and his wife, Columba, could have done something to prevent their daughter "from making the wrong choices."

"We know there are thousands of families across Florida who share in this unfortunate experience with their own children and feel as Columba and I do today," Bush said. "We love Noelle, but she is an adult and I respect the role of the courts in carrying out our state's drug treatment policies."

The governor attended ceremonies for Florida's Teacher of the Year on Wednesday night in Orlando. A spokeswoman said the governor visited Noelle while making the trip.

Orange Circuit Judge Reginald Whitehead sentenced Noelle Bush to three days in jail after rejecting pleas from her lawyer for a lighter sentence. She remains in the treatment program under the supervision of the judge.

In a memo submitted to the court by Joyce Glenn, program director at the Center for Drug Free Living in Orlando, officials said Noelle Bush was found on July 11 "in the possession of a bag of prescribed medications" in another program participant's room. The memo said the same pair left the treatment center without permission on June 19 and were disciplined after their return.

When caught with the medication, which was not identified in the memo or in court, Noelle Bush told officials she "found the pills out back."

A day later, officials at the drug treatment center determined that the pills had been taken from a medicine cabinet in the nurse's office.

"There is a concern about the lack of honesty and how it relates to her recovery as it is considered a relapse issue," Glenn wrote.

Noelle Bush had "improved" since she left the treatment center without permission, the memo said. She did not fail routine drug tests, officials reported to the judge.

Drug treatment officials will intensify a relapse prevention plan because of her "continued drug seeking behaviors" to help Noelle Bush deal with stress so she can develop ways to cope, the memo said.

Noelle Bush's lawyer, Peter Antonacci of Tallahassee, urged the judge to impose a lesser sentence.

"She has tested negative," Antonacci said. "She hasn't taken any of the stuff. This was an impulse, and she was very remorseful."

Antonacci said Noelle Bush remains part of the drug treatment program, which frequently uses short jail sentences when participants violate the rules.

The Orlando program is similar to one in Tallahassee that accepted Noelle Bush after she was arrested in January at a Walgreens drive-through window trying to obtain Xanax, a prescription drug used to treat anxiety.

She was arrested and charged with trying to buy the drug with a fraudulent prescription. She must complete the treatment program to be eligible for dismissal of the felony drug charge. Her court case was transferred from Leon County to Orange County after she was accepted in the treatment program.

As long as she remains in the program, all proceedings will remain in Orange County. If she is tossed out of the program, the case probably would be sent back to Tallahassee for a trial or other proceedings, said Warren Goodwin, the prosecutor in charge of felony cases in Leon County.

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