A former Columbus, Ohio, police officer pleaded guilty to stealing cocaine from crime scenes and evidence rooms and selling it for more than $100,000, the Department of Justice announced this week.
In a statement, the DOJ said Joel Mefford, of London, Ohio, pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of possession with intent to distribute and one count of money laundering. Federal prosecutors say Mefford worked with another law enforcement officer to "steal and traffic cocaine" three times in 2020.
In the first two incidents, in February and March 2020, Mefford and his accomplice stole cocaine from buildings in which they were investigating drug crimes, according to the DOJ. Authorities said Mefford and the other officer submitted into evidence only a portion of the drugs they found during those investigations.
In April 2020, authorities say Mefford and his accomplice "stole between 10 and 20 kilograms of cocaine from the Columbus police property room and replaced it with fake cocaine." The DOJ said Mefford then took the drugs via police cruiser to the other officer, who gave the narcotics to a third person to sell.
The DOJ says Mefford made about $130,000 from the drug sales, depositing $72,000 of that into his bank account. He's facing the possibility of life in prison when he's sentenced at an undetermined date.
Kate McManus ✉
Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.