The coroner in Yakima County, Washington, is accused of multiple crimes after he claimed he was poisoned with drugs and then admitted he had been snorting illicit substances he took off corpses, the Yakima Herald-Republic reported Wednesday.
Yakima police are accusing Jim Curtice of evidence tampering, making false statements and official misconduct, according to the Herald-Republic. Curtice did not respond to a request for comment from The Oregonian/OregonLive on Friday.
On Aug. 26, Curtice called the Yakima Police Department and claimed he felt ill after drinking an energy drink. He said he suspected someone had tampered with the drink by adding drugs, according to a police report obtained by the Herald-Republic.
On Sept. 12, Yakima police detectives administered Curtice a polygraph, which indicated evidence of deception, according to the police report.
When presented with the results of the lie-detector test, Curtice initially denied any illicit drug use before admitting to using drugs at work three times a week for several months, the Herald-Republic reported. Curtice told investigators he took the drugs off corpses at work.
The Yakima Police Department has referred the case to the Ellensburg prosecutor’s office for potential charges, the Herald-Republic reported. The prosecutor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
©2024 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit oregonlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
