By Cody Bozarth
Charges have been filed against
a Roodhouse police officer and two dispatchers following with investigations
into the disappearance of prescription medication from the White Hall Police
Department.
On Friday, the Greene County
Sheriff’s Department began to serve warrants for the arrests of Roodhouse
Police Sgt. Steven L. Settles, 46, as well as Michele A. Stewart, 48, and
Amanda M. Morrow, 28.
Settles has been charged with
delivery of a controlled substance and official misconduct. Stewart and Morrow
were both charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance and theft.
Stewart and Morrow are accused
of stealing medication containing hydrocodone from a storage area in the White
Hall Police Department.
Greene County Sheriff Robert
McMillen said the charges that were filed against Settles are unrelated to that
theft, and he is accused of distributing medication he possessed with a valid
prescription.
“When we got the complaint
about missing medication from White Hall, we looked into that case and learned
of deliveries that had occurred involving Settles and opened up that
investigation a little broader,” McMillen said.
While Hall Police Chief Jack
Wallis said Stewart and Morrow were both part-time dispatchers at White Hall,
though Morrow resigned June 10.
Stewart was a full-time
dispatcher at Roodhouse and Morrow had also resigned this month from a
part-time position there.
The charge of official
misconduct filed against Settles accuses him of delivering controlled
substances in his official capacity and that “knowingly performed an act which
he knew he was forbidden my law to perform.”
Roodhouse Police Chief Kyle
Robison issued a written statement saying “my department will continue to
provide any information necessary to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and
cooperate fully with the Greene County State’s Attorney.”
McMillen said Friday afternoon
that Stewart already had been arrested and released on $3,500 bail. Settles was
expected to turn himself in later Friday. He said Morrow was undergoing medical
treatment and was not yet arrested.
Wallis said that as a
part-time, on-call employee, Stewart is not allowed to work while the case is
ongoing. At the onset of the investigation, Robison placed two employees on
paid administrative leave. McMillen said he believed that continues to be the
case following the arrests.