A Sharon woman was arrested Tuesday after police said she admitted to moving heroin needles at the scene of a fatal drug overdose last year.

Joy F. Steele, 47, of 333 Prindle St., was arrested at 1:37 p.m. at the police station on a warrant for tampering with evidence, police said.

According to police:

On Dec. 1, Ms. Steele moved two needles and a charred spoon at the scene of the overdose death of Linda K. Arnold, 48, formerly of Spruce Avenue, Sharon. The needles were used to inject suspected heroin and the spoon was used to prepare heroin for injection in the home where Ms. Arnold died, police said.

Ms. Steele found Ms. Arnold in the home about 30 to 40 minutes before she called Mercer County 911. She moved the items before making that call.

Police found the spoon sitting in bowl of water in a sink, and the two bent needles on a dining room table. They also found a torn piece of paper with drawings of turtles on it, which police said is commonly used to package heroin.

When police interviewed Ms. Steele several days after Ms. Arnold's death, she admitted to moving the evidence because Ms. Arnold was on parole, and Ms. Steele told them she didn't want her to get into trouble.

Ms. Arnold was arrested by Sharon police in February 2001 on charges that included possession of heroin and crack cocaine. Police said Ms. Arnold's home had been the focal point of a yearlong drug investigation.

Ms. Arnold pleaded guilty in Mercer County Common Pleas Court to possession of heroin and served 167 days in jail before being released Aug. 2, 2001, to serve 6 months parole. Stipulations of her parole included entry into a drug-treatment program and her agreement to testify against a co-defendant who had been subpoenaed.

Mercer County Coroner J. Bradley McGonigle said early this year Ms. Arnold died from an overdose of morphine and opiates. Though the toxicology reports did not indicate heroin, the morphine is an indication her death was heroin-related.

McGonigle said it was likely the drugs Ms. Arnold took were from the same supply that killed a Hermitage woman the next day. McGonigle warned that there was a more potent supply of heroin circulating through the Shenango Valley.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Kristen Garrett at kgarrett@sharonherald.com