A former Columbus police officer was sentenced in federal court to more than four years in prison for stealing cocaine from crime scenes and a police evidence room.
Joel Mefford, 35, of London was assigned to investigate drug crimes.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says Mefford worked with John Castillo, another Columbus police officer, to steal and traffic cocaine in 2020. Castillo was sentenced to spend 46 months in prison in December after pleading guilty to drug charges last June.
In one incident, Mefford and the other officer stole between 10 and 20 kilograms of cocaine from the Columbus police property room and replaced it with fake cocaine.
Mefford then took the stolen cocaine in a police cruiser and Castillo later gave the drugs to someone to sell.
Officials say Mefford deposited more than $72,000 in cash from the drug sales into his personal bank account.
