ALTOONA, Iowa — A former Altoona police officer has pleaded guilty to charges related to taking prescription pills from evidence lockers in 2017.
According to court documents, Joshua Copeland twice replaced pills being held in evidence with over-the-counter medication.
In a plea agreement filed June 24, Copeland pleaded guilty to two counts of Felonious Misconduct in office and one count of Possession of Controlled Substance — Methamphetamine, a serious misdemeanor. Investigators say meth was found in his police car and in a blood sample.
The plea reads:
"I did knowingly falsify two separate writing entries, knowing the entries were false, that the entries would become a public record of a government body, and these actions were done while on duty as a public employee."
Two forgery charges against him will be dismissed as part of the agreement.
The prosecution and defense have agreed on probation and a 10-year suspended prison sentence.
Copeland resigned from the police department in 2018. His sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 23.
