The Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY, Ok. (AP) - An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper and a former Norman police officer face misdemeanor counts in a drug investigation involving steroids and prescription drugs.
Trooper Timothy Timmons, 36, and former officer, Kyle Ward Sherman, 35, were charged Thursday with a misdemeanor count of conspiracy to possess steroids.
Prosecutors also named several others on felony charges of conspiracy to distribute steroids and conspiracy to distribute the prescription drugs Lortab, Valium, Xanax and Phentermine.
The charges stem from a Sept. 30 police sting in which 31 people were arrested. The sting was the result of a multi-agency investigation that centered on the alleged actions of Steve Clausen, 29, and bodybuilder Thomas L. Brown, 31.
According to court documents, Drug Enforcement Administration officers received a tip in January that Brown, who is also a personal trainer in Norman, was providing steroids to numerous individuals, including some in law enforcement.
In May, Missouri police arrested a man who said he got the ecstasy and marijuana that was found on him from Clausen in Oklahoma City.
Authorities used telephone traces to monitor Clausen’s calls and gathered information about his contacts with Brown and others.
Clausen has been named in four sets of felony conspiracy charges involving ecstasy, marijuana, steroids and prescription drugs. Brown is named only in the steroid conspiracy charges.
Timmons was a customer of Brown’s, and Sherman used his police equipment to check license plate numbers for Brown, investigators allege.
Timmons was suspended with pay and Sherman was fired in October from the Norman Police Department.