An on-duty Braxton County parole officer bought drugs from a confidential informant, according to police.
Christopher Bryan Bright, 36, of Parsons, is charged with possession of a controlled substance and five counts of conspiracy.
On April 18 at about 10 p.m., a confidential informant, whom police called by the code name "Running Man," sold Bright two placebo pills, meant to look like oxycodone, for $40 at a strip mall in Flatwoods, according to a criminal complaint filed in Braxton County Magistrate Court. Bright was on the job at the time and had his work-issued and personal firearms with him, the complaint says.
After the buy, police conducted a traffic stop and found the pills by Bright's feet inside in the vehicle.
Bright admitted to buying the drugs, as well as purchasing hydrocodone four times and meth one time between December 2015 and April 18, 2016, according to the complaint.
Chief Deputy David Doak of the Braxton County Sheriff's Department said Bright immediately lost his job after the arrest.
He said that police learned about Bright's drug use from the confidential informant, who had been arrested for manufacturing meth.
Doak, who has worked in law enforcement in north-central West Virginia since 1973, said he wasn't aware of any similar cases in that time.
"It's not something that happens," he said.
Doak said the sheriff's department had worked with Bright a few times before and never seen any signs of drug use on the job.
"We'd never had any problem with him whatsoever," he said.
No pre-trial hearing has been set, according to a Braxton County magistrate court employee.
She said records show Bright gave up his rights to a court-appointed attorney. It isn't clear whether he has hired counsel.
Stacy Nowicki-Eldridge, general counsel for the Division of Corrections, and Lawrence Messina, spokesman for the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, both confirmed that Bright used to work for the Division of Corrections.
Nowicki-Eldridge said that the law forbids her from further commenting on personnel issues, although she wouldn't say which law.
Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv, or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.