COLUMBUS, Ohio — The United States Attorney’s Office has announced the arrest of two Columbus, Ohio, police officers on federal charges alleging they stole multiple kilograms of cocaine and provided it to others to sell.
Officials say John Castillo, 31, of Grove City, and Joel M. Mefford, of London, Ohio, were arrested on Thursday and appeared in federal courts this afternoon, at which point their cases were unsealed.
According to Mefford’s indictment, in February 2020, he was investigating a drug crime and unlawfully gained access to a detached garage belonging to the subject of the investigation.
It is alleged Mefford, without a warrant, discovered two kilograms of cocaine in the rafters of the garage.
Mefford allegedly seized one of the kilograms and left the other to be found during the execution of a search warrant the next morning. The defendant allegedly gave the stolen narcotics to an individual to sell.
Similarly, officials say, in February and March 2020, Mefford was investigating drug-trafficking activity at houses on Ambleside Drive and Kilbourne Avenue in Columbus. On March 7, 2020, the officer allegedly took a bag containing multiple kilograms of cocaine from the house on Ambleside Drive and arrested an individual there.