July 20, 2022
The former chief of police in Elizabeth Borough who was sentenced to probation in state court in 2019 after admitting to stealing thousands of small bags of heroin and fentanyl from his department’s evidence room has been indicted on federal charges.
U.S. Attorney Cindy Chung said a grand jury indicted Timothy Butler on a charge of theft of government property, according to a news release.
In 2019, Butler was sentenced to 45 months of probation and 325 hours of community service for pleading guilty to stealing thousands of bags of heroin from the evidence room.
The DOJ said that from June 2017 until December 2018, Butler stole bricks of heroin from the Elizabeth Borough Police Department’s evidence locker for his own personal use. The heroin was valued at more than $1,000.
The original criminal complaint said that, after being questioned about suspicious activity in 2018, Butler admitted that he had become addicted to heroin after taking prescription Vicodin for neck and back pain.
Butler resigned after the evidence theft was discovered by another officer. He had worked at the department for almost 20 years and had been chief for about four years.
If convicted on the federal charge, Butler faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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