The Buchtel chief of police was arrested Wednesday afternoon after Athens County deputies allegedly sold him prescription pills in a controlled sale.
Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly said his office received information that Kelsey Lanning, Buchtel’s chief of police, had allegedly been using illicit drugs for more than a year.
Deputies investigated the accusations for about a month, culminating with an alleged controlled sale of prescription drugs between Lanning and an individual working with the sheriff’s Narcotics Enforcement Team at Lanning’s Nelsonville house, 432 Fairview St., according to a news release.
“We were completely shocked,” Buchtel Mayor John Sullivan said. “Nobody had any idea.”
Sullivan said he placed Lanning on suspension without pay while the investigation is conducted.
Lanning was not acting as a law-enforcement officer during the time of the sale, and the sheriff’s office secured the inventory for the Buchtel police evidence room, according to the release.
Both Sullivan and Kelly said they were not concerned about misuse of the evidence room or its contents, but because Lanning had the only key to the room, Kelly said an inventory of the room’s contents would be completed during the investigation.
Lanning has been charged with possession of an illegal narcotic, and additional charges will be presented to the Grand Jury, according to the release.
Jessica Willison, Lanning’s 29-year-old girlfriend, also was arrested for possession, according to the release.
Lanning was released and charges are pending, Kelly said.
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