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Fire Chief charged with heroin possession
Imagine your incident commander.....at even the simplest of incidents.....being on heroin. This article doesn't imply that.....but, what if?
DUPONT, Wash. (AP) - DuPont Fire Chief Rick Stillwaugh has been
suspended from his job and charged with heroin possession.
Stillwaugh, 34, pleaded innocent Monday in Pierce County
Superior Court to charges of unlawful possession of a controlled
substance and unlawful use of drug paraphernalia.
He was released on his own recognizance, over prosecutors'
protests, by Judge Sergio Armijo and is scheduled for trial in
August.
Stillwaugh was arrested at his home Saturday night after
forcibly terminating a 911 call by his wife during an argument,
interim city Administrator Bill McDonald said Monday. Stillwaugh
was booked into Pierce County Jail and released early Sunday
morning.
Mayor Penny Drost suspended Stillwaugh on Sunday.
"He'll get his due process and we'll do a thorough
investigation," McDonald said.
On Sunday afternoon, officers went to a motel to give him
paperwork suspending him from his job, charging documents said.
He gave the officers permission to search his room, where they
found syringes and other drug paraphernalia, court papers said.
After arresting him, they found heroin in his pockets, charging
documents said.
No charges were filed over the 911 call because there were no
allegations of related domestic violence, Deputy Prosecutor Al Rose
said.
Stillwaugh had checked himself into a hospital Friday night for
help getting off prescription painkillers that he'd been taking for
back pain, McDonald said.
He checked himself out the next day. When he asked his wife,
Tammy, for their debit card, she refused and the dispute led to the
attempted 911 call, McDonald said.
McDonald said Stillwaugh's wife told police he had been abusing
drugs.
Once the DuPont Police Department completes its criminal
investigation, the Washington State Patrol has agreed to conduct an
internal investigation for the city, Trooper Kurt Adkinson said.
Stillwaugh was hired as a firefighter in September 1997 and
named chief in September 2001, McDonald said.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
DUPONT, Wash. (AP) - DuPont Fire Chief Rick Stillwaugh has been
suspended from his job and charged with heroin possession.
Stillwaugh, 34, pleaded innocent Monday in Pierce County
Superior Court to charges of unlawful possession of a controlled
substance and unlawful use of drug paraphernalia.
He was released on his own recognizance, over prosecutors'
protests, by Judge Sergio Armijo and is scheduled for trial in
August.
Stillwaugh was arrested at his home Saturday night after
forcibly terminating a 911 call by his wife during an argument,
interim city Administrator Bill McDonald said Monday. Stillwaugh
was booked into Pierce County Jail and released early Sunday
morning.
Mayor Penny Drost suspended Stillwaugh on Sunday.
"He'll get his due process and we'll do a thorough
investigation," McDonald said.
On Sunday afternoon, officers went to a motel to give him
paperwork suspending him from his job, charging documents said.
He gave the officers permission to search his room, where they
found syringes and other drug paraphernalia, court papers said.
After arresting him, they found heroin in his pockets, charging
documents said.
No charges were filed over the 911 call because there were no
allegations of related domestic violence, Deputy Prosecutor Al Rose
said.
Stillwaugh had checked himself into a hospital Friday night for
help getting off prescription painkillers that he'd been taking for
back pain, McDonald said.
He checked himself out the next day. When he asked his wife,
Tammy, for their debit card, she refused and the dispute led to the
attempted 911 call, McDonald said.
McDonald said Stillwaugh's wife told police he had been abusing
drugs.
Once the DuPont Police Department completes its criminal
investigation, the Washington State Patrol has agreed to conduct an
internal investigation for the city, Trooper Kurt Adkinson said.
Stillwaugh was hired as a firefighter in September 1997 and
named chief in September 2001, McDonald said.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
I been doing this 32 years and only qualified to be a firefighter for pay.. They let me be Chief for free....
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