Jim Muir reports for The Southern Illinoisan in an article titled, “Franklin Sheriff Says One Person Had Access to Pot Storage” Excerpt:
BENTON — As the investigation into the disappearance of 5-10 pounds of marijuana from a secure county storage facility enters its third week, Franklin County Sheriff Bill Wilson said only one person from his staff had access to where the pot was stored.
Wilson said it’s unfair to label the entire jail staff for the disappearance.
“There are 13 people that we have determined that had access to the storage facility,” Wilson said. “But only one of those people is actually an employee of this department.”
Wilson said the marijuana was placed in a storage facility behind the jail late in the evening on Sept. 6 after agents from the COMIT Drug Task Force raided a Hamilton County residence and confiscated a large cache of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia.
When officers entered the building Sept. 9 to inventory the drugs seized during the bust, the marijuana was discovered to be missing. Wilson said more than 100 marijuana plants and a wide assortment of drug-related items were left behind.
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“It’s unfair to say that all jail employees are involved in this because they’re not,” said Wilson. Immediately after Wilson was notified that the marijuana was missing he contacted state police officials who took over the investigation. Lie detector tests have been given to the 13 people in question, but no details on the results are being released.