Rather than collecting it and filing a report, prosecutors say Werner flushed it down a toilet.
August 29, 2017
SAGINAW, MI -- A former correctional officer at The Saginaw County Jail who was accused of tampering with evidence by flushing heroin down a toilet was sentenced to fines and court costs after pleading to a misdemeanor.
Prosecutors say on Jan. 4, Brent L. Werner was working at the Saginaw County Jail when he removed heroin found on a 33-year-old man there.
Rather than collecting it and filing a report, prosecutors say Werner flushed it down a toilet.
Werner, 35, originally was charged with evidence tampering and faced up to four years in prison and a $5,000 fine. But Werner pleaded guilty on July 18 to a misdemeanor charge of willful neglect of duty.
Werner was ordered by Saginaw County Circuit Court Judge Robert L. Kaczmarek to pay $400 in court costs and $400 in fines within 90 days. Werner was also ordered to pay the $68 state minimum fee, $75 crime victims' rights fee and sentenced to one day in jail with full credit.