By Kiran Chawla
BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -
A former narcotics officer with
the Baton Rouge Police Department has been arrested for unauthorized use of a
vehicle and crime against the elderly. This arrest comes just four months after
being released from prison after he was convicted in 2012 for stealing more
than $27,000 from drug investigation evidence.
In April of 2011, evidence from
more than half a dozen Baton Rouge drug cases went missing. Officer Michael
Thompson was busted for stealing around $27,000 from drug investigations. He
told investigators that he stole the money because he was addicted to pain
medication and was using the money to buy pills.
Thompson was arrested and
charged with malfeasance in office and seven counts of felony theft.
At the time of his first
arrest, he had been with the Baton Rouge Police Department for five years.
Officials with BRPD say Thompson was fired before he was taken into custody.
In October 2011, a grand jury
indicted Thompson on 16 counts of felony theft.
In November 2012, Thompson was
sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay $27,065 in restitution to
the city of Baton Rouge. He was also sentenced to be on active supervised
probation for three years following his release from prison. The sentence was
part of Thompson's negotiated plea agreement.
He pleaded guilty to one count
of felony theft that encompassed all of his criminal conduct.
Also during the investigation,
it was revealed that several cases had to be dismissed because the evidence was
missing.
Thompson was released from jail
on July 13, 2014 and was to begin his active supervised probation that would
last until 2017.
The former BRPD Narcotics
Officer was arrested Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 and charged with unauthorized use of
a motor vehicle and crime against the elderly.
"We got a call that he
actually took his father's car and apparently without permission, drove to his
mom's residence," said Cpl. L'Jean McKneely with BRPD.
According to the arrest report,
Thompson sat on his father while he was sitting on the couch and took his car
keys from his pocket without permission. Thompson's father told officers his
son has a drug problem and wants him arrested so he can be forced to seek help.
Thompson was found in the
vehicle in the 200 block of Little John in the vehicle, but his mother was
driving him back to his father's house.
Reports say Thompson admitted
he did take the keys without permission, but he took them from the coffee table
and not from his father's pocket. He told police he took the vehicle because he
needed to go see his mother for a problem. Then Thompson also reportedly
admitted he is addicted to heroin.
"It's an unfortunate
thing, but it's sad to say, it's not uncommon," said Cpl. McKneely.
"There are a lot of people out here who are addicted to prescription
drugs. They are ruining their families, and their families are seeking to get
them help."
Thompson was booked into the
East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. No bond has been set at the time of this
report.
