Ex-Police Officer Pleads Not Guilty to Drug Charges

A former police officer in Vermont accused of stealing heroin from a police evidence locker and giving it to an addict with whom he was having an intimate relationship has pleaded not guilty to drug charges.

November 1, 2107

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A former police officer in Vermont accused of stealing heroin from a police evidence locker and giving it to woman with whom he was having an intimate relationship has pleaded not guilty to federal drug charges.

Former Royalton officer John Breault was arraigned Tuesday on heroin and marijuana distribution charges. The Valley News reports he did not attend the hearing. His lawyer entered his plea for him.

The complaint filed by an FBI agent says Breault supplied the woman, who was addicted to opioids, with drugs this summer. The complaint says the drugs came from a drug bust in Royalton and the department's prescription drug take-back box.

Breault's lawyer has said the 31-year-old Breault, who resigned last month, was trying to help a friend and has never done drugs.