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A former Nebraska State Patrol investigator has gotten two years of probation for possessing 1,800 prescription pills that had been turned in to law enforcement to be disposed.
As part of the plea agreement, Christopher Kober, 46, agreed to surrender his law enforcement certification and not seek a job in law enforcement in the future, U.S. Attorney Joe Kelly said in a news release Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Kober pleaded guilty to possession of Vicodin, Oxycodone HCI, Percocet, morphine sufate and fentanyl, a misdemeanor, in U.S. District Court in Omaha.
The federal indictment lists the drugs as painkillers and opioids stolen from January 2016 to March 2017 during drug take-back operations, overdose investigations and other means.
Kober was fired from the State Patrol in June 2017 following an internal investigation.
Kelly said he had been assigned to the DEA Drug Diversion Task Force and was responsible for the collection of old and unused prescription drugs left at collection boxes.
On March 17, 2017, officers were called to Kober’s home in Bellevue where they found 1,800 prescription pills of various dosage amounts in a bag with his other personal belongings. They were Schedule II controlled substances with an estimated street value of $18,000.
Magistrate Judge Susan M. Bazis sentenced Kober on Wednesday after he entered his plea.
As part of his plea agreement, Kober must forgo any administrative appeal of his termination from the State Patrol.