Former Kokomo officer gets probation for fentanyl theft

KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) - A former central Indiana police officer has received probation for stealing a powerful painkiller while on-duty.

Heath Evans was sentenced Thursday to 18 months of supervised probation and ordered to complete a substance abuse program.

Evans pleaded guilty in Howard County to misdemeanor counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or deceit and possession of a narcotic drug.

The Kokomo Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2rJETab ) Evans was a Kokomo police officer when he checked last December on the welfare of a woman prescribed fentanyl, the powerful opioid blamed for the death of the entertainer Prince.

Prosecutors say Evans stole fentanyl patches from the woman after he picked up her prescription.

He later resigned after 17 years with the department. Evans says he became addicted to narcotics during a 2010 bout with cancer.

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Information from: Kokomo Tribune, http://www.ktonline.com