Preschool teacher arrested for going to work drunk, reportedly appears in court drunk

Angela Hircock, 43, from Winterset, Iowa, was arrested in March after co-workers told authorities they thought she was drunk at her preschool teaching job. (Polk County Jail)

An Iowa preschool teacher convicted of being drunk at work appeared in court Thursday -- intoxicated again, court records showed.

Angela Hircock, 43, from Winterset, was arrested in March after co-workers told authorities they thought she was drunk at her preschool teaching job at "Lil Scholars Too Day Care Center" in West Des Moines.

Cops said a breathalyzer test showed Hircock’s blood alcohol content was 0.37 -- nearly five times the legal limit of 0.08 and high enough to possibly warrant hospitalization. She was immediately fired from the preschool and charged with child endangerment and public intoxication, pleading guilty in July. Her expected sentence was two years’ probation.

But during her sentencing Thursday, Hircock showed up drunk again, this time blowing a .178 BAC, according to court documents. She was placed in jail, awaiting a pending substance abuse evaluation.

On the day she was initially arrested at work, Hircock allegedly admitted to police she had been “drinking throughout the day using her water bottle to hide the alcohol,” The Des Moines Register reported. Hircock also told co-workers her intoxication may have been related to her diabetes condition, according to a police report.

Authorities said at the time of her arrest, she “had bloodshot eyes, was unable to stand on her own and swayed in her seat.”

Lil Scholars Too director Marci Johnston told KCCI Hircock went to lunch for a while and, when she returned, staff members found her in the break room.

That day, Hircock had been supervising young children but reportedly didn’t interact with any students after drinking.

“As soon as we had any clue there was something going on with her we immediately called her into the office," Johnston said.

Hircock is scheduled for a new court hearing Sept. 8.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.