By Megan Thornton
The Cherokee Tribune
CANTON — Two Cherokee County Firefighters are in jail after an investigation alleged they tampered with narcotics on a county ambulance.
Johnathan Wayne Thomas, 34, and Jarad Jones, 25, both of Canton, are being held in the Cherokee County Detention Center.
Thomas, who has worked with Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services for three years, is charged with the sale of hydrocodone, felony possession of marijuana, possession of a schedule II controlled substance, possession of a schedule III controlled substance and possession of a schedule IV controlled substance.
Jones, who has worked with CFES since 2005, is charged with felony theft by taking. Baker said he is accused of stealing fentanyl, a liquid pain killer, from a county ambulance last year. Jones stole the drug on more than one occasion and it was taken for his own personal use, Baker said.
Thomas has no bond and Jones’ bond is set at $5,700.
Sheriff Roger Garrison and Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services Chief Tim Prather held a news conference Thursday and said during a routine inspection of ambulances Sunday, officials found vials missing from one of the ambulances.
As a result of the inspection, county fire officials reported the missing drugs to the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office, which investigated the incident in conjunction with the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad, Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services spokesman Tim Cavender said.
C-MANS officials arrested Thomas on Wednesday afternoon at his home following a search warrant for the location. Both have been suspended without pay, Cherokee Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Jay Baker said.
At the time of the news conference, Jones had not yet turned himself in, but Garrison said there was another individual officials were “looking firmly at.”
“It appears that there possibly will be one more charge of a firefighter here from Cherokee County as well as possibly other individuals who are not firefighters but were involved in the sale of illegal narcotics,” he said.
Baker said Jones turned himself in at the Cherokee Adult Detention Center Thursday afternoon.
At the news conference, Garrison said he wanted to stress that “very small amounts” of drugs were stolen from the ambulance and that they were all pain-killers — primarily injectables — that were for “self-medication” and not sold to others. The hydrocodone Thomas is charged with selling was not a drug taken from the ambulance.
“It is through the further investigation (we found) that at least one of those individuals was involved in the sale of the hydrocodone, possibly the marijuana and some other narcotics,” he said of Jones, who was not named at the time.
Garrison said though the incident is an “egregious” offense, he believes it to be an isolated event and that the care of any individuals was never jeopardized.
“We are all public servants,” he said. “We are all saddened by this, but proud that Chief Prather acted quickly and aggressively.”
Garrison credited restructuring within the fire department for bringing the incident to light, as additional personnel in the fire stations “put new eyes on some of these ambulances.”
Prather, who took office in September after Raymond Gunnin retired, said he took the infraction personally. He added that the firefighter’s actions were “disappointing” and that his office has a zero tolerance policy on drugs.
“This agency will not tolerate any type of illegal management or mishandling of our controlled substances, nor will we permit the possession and use of illegal drugs by our employees,” Prather said. “Illegal drug use is a debilitating disease that can interfere and destroy a family, a person’s health and career. I hope Mr. Thomas will take the necessary steps to overcome this issue and situation.”
Garrison said Thomas’ first court appearance is Friday. The investigation into the tampered vials is ongoing, Baker said.
Republished with permission of The Cherokee Tribune