Two county firefighters accused of taking narcotics from ambulance

Written by Jessica Wagner Tuesday, 31 January 2012 00:00

Two county firefighters/paramedics are behind bars after agents with the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad (CMANS) and investigators with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office linked the pair to illegal drug use, an incident the fire chief called a violation of trust.

“This is very disappointing to the department,” Cherokee Fire and Emergency Services Chief Tim Prather said. “This is the first time since the department has had the transporting service that this has happened. There will be zero tolerance and we will make it better; I don’t want this to be a bad reflection on our team.”

Charges were levied against 34-year-old Johnathan Wayne Thomas last Wednesday, just three days after officials with Fire-ES reported to the sheriff’s office that medicine vials on a county ambulance had been tampered with.

Fire-ES Director of Public Affairs Tim Cavender said Thomas has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.

Thomas, of Canton, faces multiple drug charges including, possession of felony marijuana, as well as possession of Schedule II, III and IV controlled substances.

He also is accused of selling Hydrocodone, which, along with the marijuana and another controlled substance, was not taken from the county ambulance, but discovered in the home while CMANS agents executed a search warrant Jan. 31.

County firefighter/paramedic Jared Jones, 25, turned himself in last Thursday based on his alleged role in taking the injectable pain relief narcotic Fentanyl from a county ambulance.

Jones, of Canton, was charged with felony theft by taking.

Cherokee County Sheriff Roger Garrison said at a press conference last week that the amount of Fentanyl taken from the ambulance was small and used for self-medication by the two county fire personnel. Garrison further said no patients were ever put in danger.