| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) A sheriff's deputy has been charged with being high on methamphetamine while on duty for allegedly using drugs he seized during an arrest.
Prosecutors on Monday charged James Reynolds with 12 felony and misdemeanor counts, including attempted evidence tampering and filing a false report, after the deputy was caught in a videotaped sting operation in July.
Reynolds, 32, would face up to 8 years in prison if convicted of all the charges, the district attorney's office said. He surrendered to authorities and was released on Monday.
Fellow deputies arrested Reynolds July 4 in the sting which was prompted by a tip from a sheriff's department employee. Reynolds and four other deputies who may have known about his alleged drug use but failed to report it were placed on paid administrative leave pending completion of the investigation.
One of the other deputies has since resigned and no charges have been filed against any of them.
Reynolds, who has been with the sheriff's department since April 1996, was a patrol officer assigned to the Jurupa Valley station.
Sheriff Bob Doyle said Reynolds tested positive for drugs after the arrest.
``It's disappointing to me personally,'' Doyle said ``In law enforcement it's understood that we live our lives a cut above others. The public expects us to be better than normal people.''