A former lieutenant in Burke County, North Carolina was arrested for embezzlement in an indictment led by the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).
On September 12 Jody Price, 46, was charged with felony embezzlement by a local government employee after being indicted by a grand jury. Price was a lieutenant with the Burke County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO).
WCCB News reports Price was assigned to the BCSO’s Narcotics Task Force in March 2018 when BCSO received information that he had improperly used drug funds totaling more than $16,000. Price was fired on March 9 after an internal investigation, the case was turned over to the SBI that day.
The SBI concluded their investigation this week, which led to Price being arrested.
Burke County Sheriff Steve Whisenant released this statement:
> “The Burke County Sheriff’s Office core values are professionalism and integrity and those values are shared with every new employee and continuously emphasized.”
Price was issued a written promise to appear with a court date set for Oct. 22.
BCSO’s Narcotics Task Force was dissolved on July 31. On Aug.1, the BCSO Narcotics Division was started as part of the Criminal Investigations Division.