Allegheny County officer facing drug, child endangerment charges

PITTSBURGH — An Allegheny County police officer is facing drug and child endangerment charges after authorities said they responded to her home Friday night when she reported her vehicle had been stolen by her son.

Zena Jenkins, a county police officer since July 1998, was freed from the Allegheny County Jail on a non-monetary bond on Saturday for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, along with child endangerment charges.

Allegheny County police Assistant Superintendent James Morton said Jenkins has been on- and off-duty as a result of a work-related injury and was classified as being on light duty.

According to a Pittsburgh police complaint, Jenkins, 48, of Perry North called police about 6 p.m. Friday and told them that her son, Daniel Jenkins, 20, had stolen her Cadillac Escalade about 5:30 p.m. and left the residence.

When city police responded, Officer Stephanie Haniotakis wrote in a report, Zena Jenkins “appeared very lethargic, she had slurred speech and an unsteady (gait).”

Haniotakis wrote that she could smell marijuana coming from the house and saw partially burned marijuana blunts and drug paraphernalia.

Jenkins told police that “she did not know where all of her firearms currently were at this time and believe that Daniel Jenkins may have taken one of them,” Haniotakis wrote.

Police obtained a search warrant for the house.

City police contacted Allegheny County police, who came to the house and took three firearms from Jenkins. Morton said county police have her service revolver.

Jenkins also has two adolescent sons and an adult daughter living with her, police said. Police said they found rotted food in dresser drawers, overflowing garbage cans, dirty laundry atop electrical cords and broken glass scattered on the floor. Allegheny County Children, Youth and Family allowed Jenkins' daughter to take custody of her younger brothers, police said.

State police issued an alert on Friday night seeking Daniel Jenkins for questioning related to a shooting that morning on the Parkway East that wounded two people, Pittsburgh police said. Police later said they didn’t believe Jenkins was involved in the shooting.

"It just so happens there were two separate investigations that overlapped so we do not have an arrest warrant for him and that's a case that the city is handling," Trooper Robin Mungo said.

Authorities said they found the SUV in the West End Friday night, but police haven’t located Daniel.

Channel 11's news exchange partners at TribLIVE contributed to this report.

WPXI