Ex-Plymouth County deputy pleads not guilty to stealing drugs

December 1, 2020

E MARS, Iowa -- A former Plymouth County Sheriff's deputy has pleaded not guilty to stealing prescription medications from homes and the department's evidence room.

Aaron Leusink, 41, of Le Mars, entered his written plea Monday in Plymouth County District Court to single counts of first-degree burglary, felonious misconduct in office, fourth-degree theft and unlawful possession of prescription drugs, two counts each of second-degree burglary and third-degree burglary, and three counts of fifth-degree theft.

Arrested in September, Leusink is accused of taking the drugs from homes while enforcing search warrants, stealing pills that had been collected as evidence in cases and committing a string of burglaries at five Plymouth County pharmacies dating back to 2017.

Agents searching Leusink's home in April found more than 1,600 prescription medication pills and several evidence bags that had been ripped open or were left unsealed, $5,432 in cash and a thumb drive and an iPhone from a case he had previously worked. Agents searching Leusink's desk at the sheriff's office found ripped-open evidence bags that were missing hydrocodone pills seized in cases Leusink had worked, court documents said.