Former Latimer County Deputy Arrested For Stealing Drugs From Evidence Room

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Latimer County, OK



WILBURTON, Oklahoma - Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents have arrested a former Latimer County sheriff's deputy for stealing drug evidence while working as a county deputy, a news release says.

The Latimer County sheriff requested OSBI to investigate missing drug evidence from the department's evidence room, OSBI says.

The sheriff said he found drug evidence inside former deputy Bobby Joe Eubanks' patrol vehicle when the sheriff was cleaning the vehicle.

The sheriff recently had terminated Eubanks, a news release says, and at the time Eubanks was terminated, he was in charge of the department's drug evidence room.

A release says the OSBI agent assigned the case tracked the drug evidence and determined it had been sent to the OSBI laboratory for testing in 2011. At that time, an OSBI chemist reportedly determined the drugs contained methamphetamine.

OSBI says Eubanks admitted to stealing drug evidence two times when interviewed by agents.

Eubanks claimed he needed meth to help him cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He had been deployed to Afghanistan while in the Army National Guard prior to his employment with the sheriff's office.

Eubanks was arrested outside the Latimer County Sheriff's Office in Wilburton on Thursday afternoon.

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International Association for Property and Evidence
"Law Enforcement Serving the Needs of Law Enforcement"
www.IAPE.org