Sheriff's K9 Officer Admits Theft Of Training Cocaine

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The former commander of the Ocean County Sheriff's Department's canine unit has pleaded guilty to stealing cocaine entrusted to him for training dogs, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato announced.

John C. Adams, 40, pleaded guilty Thursday to second-degree charges of official misconduct and theft in connection with the misappropriation of the cocaine before Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor's office.

Della Fave said an investigation that began in January 2017 determined Adams had diverted more than a kilogram of cocaine and had personally consumed it. Adams was arrested and charged in March and has been suspended from his job since then.

Adams, who was a lieutenant and had been a sheriff's officer for 16 years, was the commander of the sheriff's department's K9 unit at the time, Della Fave said. Adams initially falsely reported that the cocaine was accidentally discarded with canine training items, then had blamed other members of the K9 Unit for the cocaine’s disappearance, Della Fave said.

Adams must forfeit his public employment and is ineligible for any future government employment in New Jersey, Della Fave said. Adams' salary was $116,468 in 2016, according to DataUniverse.

The plea agreement requires Adams to serve three years in prison, with a mandatory period of parole ineligibility of two years, he said.

The Ocean County Sheriff’s Department provided assistance and cooperation from the inception and throughout the investigation, Della Fave said.

Adams remains free on bail pending his scheduled sentencing on April 6, 2018.

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