Former Columbus officer sentenced after stealing, selling cocaine from crime scenes
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A former Columbus police officer who pleaded guilty to charges of stealing and selling cocaine was sentenced in federal court Wednesday.
Joel Mefford, 34, of London, pleaded guilty to four drug-related charges, including three counts of possession and the intent to distribute cocaine and one count of money laundering. Facing a possible life sentence, a federal judge ordered Mefford to serve over four years in prison.
Mefford, who was also issued five years of supervised release, received a shorter sentence, 50 months, than the 57-to-71 months prosecuting attorneys were asking.
In a brief statement, Mefford said, "I apologize to my family and friends for falling short of the person I could be for the rest of my life. I will regret the three days of bad choices I made."
He originally pleaded not guilty to the charges in February after being arrested the same month, alongside fellow officer John Castillo, 31, of Grove City. Indictments against the two included accusations of stealing from evidence rooms and investigation scenes, as well as passing off the narcotics to another person to be sold.
Court documents also say that in February and March of 2020, both officers were investigating a Columbus drug house and took multiple kilograms of cocaine. They turned in one kilogram as evidence and stole another one to be sold.
Mefford, who distributed 500 grams or more of cocaine, personally earned around $130,000 from subsequent cocaine sales and put more than $72,000 in his personal bank account, according to U.S. District Attorney Kenneth Parker. He changed his plea to guilty in August.
Earlier this month Castillo was sentenced to nearly two years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of possession with attempt to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.
Castillo, who originally pleaded not guilty, took approximately 10 kilograms of cocaine in June 2021 from a home on North Everett Avenue in east Columbus during an investigation but did not enter the drugs as evidence. He then planted two of the kilograms at the Broadleigh neighborhood home and took the rest to be sold by another person.
The case against the officers stemmed from a February arrest that included accusations of stealing drugs from evidence rooms and investigation scenes, as well as passing off narcotics to another person to be sold. Castillo changed his plea to guilty in July.
According to the personnel files, Mefford was sworn in as a patrol officer in June 2011, transferring to the Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) in June 2021. Throughout his performance reviews between 2020 and 2023, Mefford received either exceeds or meets expectations marks across the board. Castillio likewise received favorable reviews since joining the department in 2019.