New Woes for Homeless Mom Accused of 'Stealing School'

A 33-year-old homeless woman accused of stealing public school services for her 5-year-old son is behind bars today, charged with selling crack cocaine and marijuana to undercover officers on Friday. Tanya McDowell was arraigned today on the drug sale charges in Superior Court in Norwalk, the same city where she is accused of illegally enrolling her son, now 6, in kindergarten last fall under her baby sitter's address.

A judge set her bond at $200,000 and she remained in jail this afternoon over the objections of her attorney, who criticized the bond amount as excessive and said he believes police targeted McDowell because of publicity over the school enrollment arrest. McDowell is due to return to court July 12 in the enrollment case and an earlier drug sales case, and again July 25 in the new drug sales case. (More Connecticut stories.)