HEROIN FOUND IN 4-YEAR-OLD'S COAT POCKET

HARTFORD, Conn. - A 4-year-old boy arrived at his day care
center with 20 packets of heroin stuffed into his coat pocket, police
said.

The boy handed the drugs to a worker at the Growing Tree Early
Learning Center on Monday morning, telling her he didn't want them
anymore.

The packets were not opened, and no other children at the center were
exposed to them, police said. The packets were labeled
``overdose.''

The boy's mother, postal worker Maureen DaCosta of Hartford, was
charged with risk of injury to a minor.

DaCosta said she was just as surprised as the police and workers at
the day-care center.

``I'm not crazy enough to let my son get into drugs. It's too scary,''
said DaCosta, who was released on bail Tuesday after appearing in
Hartford Superior Court. ``I don't know where my son got it.''

Police were testing fingerprints on the packets Tuesday.