Former CPD narcotics supervisor pleads guilty as part of plea bargain

Coomes, who resigned from CPD Oct. 22, 2015, was accused of obtaining narcotics out of the police department's evidence room under the guise of using them in educational programs.

November 3, 2016

A former Columbus Police Department narcotics division supervisor pleaded guilty Thursday to felony possession of methamphetamine, felony official misconduct and misdemeanor theft.

Jeremy R. Coomes, 39, who lives on the northeast side of Columbus, entered the guilty pleas in Bartholomew Circuit Court as part of a plea bargain that called for seven other criminal counts to be dismissed and the prosecution agreeing not to make a recommendation about sentencing.

Coomes, who resigned from CPD Oct. 22, 2015, was accused of obtaining narcotics out of the police department's evidence room under the guise of using them in educational programs.

Information in the probable-cause affidavit said Coomes checked out drug evidence in as many as 10 cases from the Columbus Police Department's property room. When that evidence was returned, some of it was missing, some of it had been replaced with other substances and evidence packet seals had been tampered with or altered, court documents state.

An internal investigation into missing evidence in the property room began Oct. 12, 2015.

Charges that would be dismissed as part of the plea bargain include felony possession of cocaine, felony theft, felony possession of a narcotic drug, another felony possession of methamphetamine charge, misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, misdemeanor possession of marijuana and another misdemeanor theft charge, court documents state.

The felony methamphetamine conviction carries a fixed term between three and 16 years in prison, with the advisory sentence being nine years, according to the plea agreement. The felony official misconduct conviction carries a prison term of six months to two-and-a-half years with the advisory sentence being one year. The misdemeanor theft conviction carries a fixed term of not more than one year. The court may assess fines of $10,000 each for the felonies and not more than $5,000 for the misdemeanor conviction.

Coomes is scheduled to be sentenced in Bartholomew Circuit Court on Dec. 29.