Charleroi police officer suspended after being charged with drug possession
State police began investigating a Charleroi Regional police officer in January after text messages from him were discovered on the phone that belonged to a person who died in Fayette County from a drug overdose.
The messages from “Billy Billy” – later identified as William Michael Gardner – prompted Perryopolis Borough police to seize the victim’s phone at the death scene Jan. 21 to preserve the evidence, court records show.
“The officer recognized that text messages exchanged between the victim and Billy Billy were indicative of narcotics trafficking,” a trooper noted in the affidavit.
Gardner, 39, of Jefferson Township in Fayette, was suspended last week from his job with pay after the department learned he was under investigation by state police in a drug case, the department’s solicitor said.
A trooper began investigating the phone the same day it was seized and he concluded that Gardner had been purchasing prescription medication from the victim on a regular basis between Sept. 19 and January, court records allege.
State police put Gardner under surveillance March 27 as he responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle in Charleroi, where he also served as handler of the department’s K-9 officer. State police had also listed the vehicle as having been stolen.
Police accused Gardner of searching the vehicle and stealing placebo oxycontin tablets and $47 from it before it was towed away, charging documents state.
Gardner allegedly did not place into evidence what he seized from the vehicle or mention it in his department report that was forwarded to state police, the records show.
Three days later, Gardner confessed to taking the pills and throwing them away at the end of his shift, police claimed in the affidavit. He also said he did not know what he did with the money.
District Judge Michael Manfredi released Gardner Tuesday on $5,000 unsecured on charges of drug possession, obstruction, theft from a motor vehicle, tampering with evidence, misappropriation of government property and receiving stolen property, online court records show.
It was not immediately known Tuesday if Gardner had hired an attorney to represent him in the case.
Todd Pappasergi, the department’s solicitor, declined further comment on the case.