A San Diego Police officer arrested with her husband on drug charges has lost shared custody of her two children from a previous marriage.
Monday morning, Jennifer Charpentier was in family court to hear a judge’s ruling on the custody she shares with her ex-husband over their 16 and 18-year-old sons.
The judge decided she is now allowed just 32 hours a week of supervised visitation, pending legal proceedings on the drug arrest. That means there has to be an agreed upon third party with them.
“I feel terrible about it. I feel awful,” Jennifer told NBC 7. “I want the kids to be in our home. I want the kids to be in the dad’s home. I want us to have shared custody. I want us to be able to co-parent and raise the kids together.”
She said as bad as she feels, she understood the ruling.
Her ex-husband filed an emergency court order to determine temporary custody after Jennifer and her now-husband Bryce – also an SDPD officer – were both arrested last week on charges of possession of a controlled substance, sales of drugs, transportation and conspiracy.
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Bryce is also accused of being under the influence while in possession of a loaded firearm. Both are now on paid leave from the department.
Jennifer told NBC 7 Monday that the deputies who arrested them gave very little information about what was going on, but she said they did offer a possible clue.
“There was surveillance video of a vehicle belonging to us that apparently raised some suspicion,” she said. “So, as to why we weren’t spoken to about that immediately, I don’t know.”
She said the video was taken near the Mid-City division where Bryce worked, but she had no more information.
In divorce documents, Jennifer’s ex-husband and Bryce’s ex-wife accuse the couple of abusing prescription painkillers.
But Jennifer said the police department requires drug testing and that “in general, I have never tested positive for any painkillers or any illegal drugs. Neither has my husband. In general, I can tell you that’s true.”
So far, no charges have been filed by the District Attorney’s Office, but the two will make appearances in court in the next few days.
