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Marshall County, WV
MARSHALL COUNTY, W.Va. -- After the prescription drug fentanyl went missing from the Marshall County Sheriff's Office in January, deputies started an investigation, looking over surveillance footage to see who had been in and out of the building that day. But they then handed things over to the state police.
“I talked to Sgt. Robinson of the state police on Wednesday. I think I was his last polygraph examination," said Marshall County Sheriff John Gruzinskas.
While Gruzinskas is still waiting to read the report, Captain James Merrill of the West Virginia State Police told NEWS9 that Sgt. Dave Robinson has "pretty much wrapped up" a thorough investigation and unfortunately, right now, Robinson can't determine what happened to the drugs.
Merrill said the longer it takes for a case to be reported, the tougher it becomes to solve. After exhausting every means available, he said the investigator will need new information before he can advance the case.
The prescription fentanyl patches were brought in to the sheriff's department for deputies to turn them over to the Drug Enforcement Administration earlier this year. Since the patches went missing, Gruzinskas said his office has changed policy.
“We have a lot of vendors who are in and out of this building all the time. So now we have an employee who will accompany those vendors,” he said.
A main hallway is one area Gruzinskas said they will also increase surveillance. There are cameras at the doors, but there isn't a camera watching over the hallway.
“We are contacting our security company that takes care of our cameras. We're adding more cameras inside the building,” he said.
Gruzinskas also said he wants an internal investigation -- one that he will personally conduct -- to find out whether there was any negligence in the way the prescription drugs were handled before they went missing.
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