Woman's heart stops during drug test

A 20-year-old Gardnerville woman who was rushed to emergency care by her probation officer when her pulse stopped as he tested her for drugs was jailed on $10,000 bail after she received medical treatment.

Katherine Rempt is to appear Sept. 17 for a hearing in East Fork Justice Court.

Doug Swalm, chief of the Department of Alternative Sentencing, took Rempt to the emergency room from the Douglas County Jail when her pulse stopped as she was being drug tested.

"Turn around and thank that man for saving your life," Justice Jim EnEarl said Wednesday as Rempt appeared for a preliminary hearing.

"Your heart quit. He had to rush you to the emergency room. You were dead. What in the hell are you doing?" EnEarl asked.

According to reports, officers were investigating a domestic call Sept. 6 at the home Rempt shares with her mother when they observed she was under the influence of drugs, a violation of her probation on earlier drug charges.

She reportedly told officers she had been using methamphetamine and had been awake for four days. She had puncture wounds on her right forearm and in the veins in the back of her hands. Rempt reportedly told deputies she had been using methamphetamine intravenously.

When Swalm tested her, Rempt's blood pressure was 140 over 103 and her pulse rate was 120 beats per minute.

A few minutes later, he said, he couldn't find a pulse.

He said her legs were covered with bruises and she claimed to have been assaulted earlier in the day at a Reno motel. She said she did not report the attack.

"You are bright, you are articulate, you've got everything going for you," EnEarl said. "Think this over for the next week."

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