Columbus-This afternoon, a former Columbus police officer was arrested on numerous charges related to alleged misconduct that occurred while he was employed by the Columbus Police Department.
The investigation which led to the arrest of Jeremy R. Coomes, age 38, Columbus, Indiana began in October 2015 when the Indiana State Police was contacted by the Columbus Police Department to conduct an investigation into missing evidence from the Columbus Police Department Evidence Room. At that time, the Columbus Police Department discovered discrepancies when conducting an annual audit of the evidence held in their evidence storage room. Information from an internal investigation conducted by the Columbus Police Department led to the Indiana State Police being contacted to conduct a criminal investigation. Detective Joe Loyd, Indiana State Police, Versailles Post, was assigned to conduct the investigation.
During the course of Det. Loyd’s investigation, it was learned that Coomes became a Columbus Police Officer in 2005 and held the position of Supervisor of the Columbus Police Department’s Narcotics Unit from December 2011 until October 2015. During the time that he was the narcotics supervisor, Coomes allegedly removed various kinds of drugs from the Columbus Police Department’s evidence room. Coomes allegedly never returned some of those items of evidence and in some cases, returned items different from the evidence he originally signed out. Coomes allegedly possessed the illegal drugs outside of the scope of his official job responsibilities.
At the conclusion of the investigation, Det. Loyd submitted the investigation to a special prosecutor assigned to the case. Today, a Bartholomew County Circuit Court Warrant was issued for Coomes for the charges of: Possession of Methamphetamine, level 3 felony
Possession of Methamphetamine, level 6 felony
Possession of Cocaine, level 6 felony
Possession of a Narcotic Drug, level 6 felony
Theft, level 5 felony
Theft, class A misdemeanor (2 counts)
Possession of a Controlled Substance, class A misdemeanor
Possession of Marijuana, class B misdemeanor
Official Misconduct, level 6 felony
Coomes was arrested this afternoon at a Columbus address. Coomes was transported to the Bartholomew County Jail. After the book-in process is completed, Coomes will be given an initial court date to appear in the Bartholomew County Circuit Court.
An arrest photo of Coomes is attached.
Note: Coomes resigned from the Columbus Police Department in October 2015
-30- SGT. STEPHEN WHEELES
Under the Law, criminal charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
