MOUNT CLEMENS (WWJ) -- Two Macomb County Medical Examiner's Office employees were fired -- and may face criminal charges -- for allegedly stealing prescription drugs that were tagged for disposal.
Following a two-month investigation into the suspected theft of narcotics from the M.E.'s office, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel and Sheriff Anthony Wickersham spoke at a press conference Friday afternoon.
According to Hackel, the M.E.'s Office has always managed their own property room, and staff are responsible for storing drugs related to cases and properly discarding them.
When prescription drugs were found to be missing, the Macomb County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) opened an investigation.
"That chain of custody sometimes gets called into question if you have folks doing things they're not supposed to be doing," Hackel said, "and that's what happened here."
All 19 employees who had access to the property room were interviewed, and two admitted to stealing narcotics that had been marked for disposal.
At this time, the two suspects have only been identified as a 50-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman, both of whom had worked for the M.E.'s Office for two years.
A search warrant was then executed, and more incriminating evidence was found on one of the two workers' phones, per Sheriff Wickersham.
Both employees were fired, and the MSCO is working to determine if anyone else was involved. Authorities are also checking to see whether there were any missteps by supervisors that allowed the theft to occur.
"We don't turn a blind eye to any issue that's happening in the county," Hackel said. "If someone's doing something inappropriate or wrong, we will address that issue, and we have done that. We're very forthcoming about it."
All evidence related to the investigation has been turned over to Macomb County prosecutors, and the two employees may face criminal charges in addition to losing their jobs.
Going forward, the MSCO will oversee the property room to ensure proper procedures are followed.
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