Sgt. Roger Dale Richmond Jr. of Shady Spring, 41, was taken into custody and charged with Driving Under the Influence of a Controlled Substance (DUI) and Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance, according to WVVA.
Police say Richmond, now a former sergeant, notified fellow officer, Lt. T.L. Miles, that he had been involved in a motor vehicle collision. Police say they were investigating skid marks at a nearby gas station when they followed fresh ruts in the embankment and dirt on the road. About a mile and a half down the road from the gas station, deputies found Richmond's marked patrol car smashed up at the entrance of Shady Spring Middle School. The front bumper had been torn off and the tire was entirely gone.
As police approached the vehicle, they saw an unconscious Richmond in the front seat. Upon further inspection, they noticed a short straw used for snorting crushed pills between his legs. Police also found that the front seat of the car was covered in a powdery blue substance.
"I noted blue powdery residue on the front seat and in the driver side floor board," Miles wrote in the criminal complaint. "A short straw was lying between the legs of Richmond. This device is commonly used to ingest crushed pills via the nasal cavity. There was also a dollar bill in the floorboard which has residue on it."
After Richmond was taken to the hospital for evaluation and drug screening, the blue substance was discovered to be Xanax. Deputies also found several more uncrushed pills in his cruiser.
A Board of Pharmacy review found Richmond did not have a prescription for Xanax which means this officer was illegally purchasing these pills on the black market.
According to the department, Richmond has since resigned. Luckily no one was killed by this irresponsible officer.
Below is the statement from Raleigh County Sheriff's Office:
On Aug. 31, 2016 at around 1:30am, deputies of the Raleigh County Sheriff's Office responded to a car crash on Rt.19 in Shady Spring. Upon arrival we found that Sgt. Roger Richmond had wrecked a sheriff's cruiser by hitting an embankment.
Investigation lead to suspicion that Sgt. Richmond might have been under the influence of unidentified substances.
After an investigation, Sgt. Richmond was brought in to speak with the Sheriff and Richmond resigned from the Sheriff's Office. He was immediately arrested for DUI first offense and possession of a schedule 4 controlled substance. This arrest was made by deputies of the Sheriff's Office by warrants issued by the deputies of the Sheriff's Office.
Richmond was released on $2500.00 bond by Magistrate Humphries.
While we recognize that drug addiction reaches all groups and businesses, it is extremely important to understand that no one is above the laws and that the Sheriff's Office will never tolerate any form of criminal action or inappropriate behavior and this incident will remain completely transparent for the general public to see.
This office is deeply saddened by the actions of the former deputy but will take all necessary measures to maintain and keep the trust of the public.
I must be getting old -- how is snorting xanax fun?