Drug charges filed against Kiefer official

KIEFER, Okla. (AP) -- Authorities have charged the police chief with taking controlled substances from property rooms. <br><br>David Little, who has resigned, was charged Thursday with two counts of

Friday, April 7th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

KIEFER, Okla. (AP) -- Authorities have charged the police chief with taking controlled substances from property rooms.

David Little, who has resigned, was charged Thursday with two counts of embezzlement of controlled substances by an officer. The charges were filed one day after the town board suspended him with pay.

Little is accused of consuming methamphetamines taken from the Kiefer Police Department property room and the Mounds Police Department where he worked until December when he became Kiefer chief.

A charge of embezzling drugs from the Kiefer property room also was filed against former Kiefer police assistant David Palmerchuk. Little hired Palmerchuk after both were interviewed for the chief's job last year.

Palmerchuk resigned last month following a feud with Little.

Arrest warrants for the pair were issued Thursday, and their bail will be set at $5,000 on each count, Chief Criminal Prosecutor Don Nelson said.

If convicted, each man faces a maximum of two years in prison and as much as a $1,000 fine on each count, Creek County Assistant District Attorney Pamela Hammers said.

"It makes me sick," Sheriff Larry Fugate said. "These guys are elected to do the opposite. They are supposed to be getting it off the street, yet here they are using it."

Kiefer is a town of about 1,000 in Creek County.