Ex-sheriff’s deputy in Iowa pleads guilty to burglary, drug thefts

LE MARS, Iowa (AP) — A former Plymouth County sheriff’s deputy pleaded guilty to stealing prescription drugs from homes, the sheriff’s department and pharmacies.

Aaron Leusink, 43, of Le Mars, was scheduled to go to trial Tuesday but instead pleaded guilty to 11 charges, including burglary, theft and felonious misconduct in office, The Sioux City Journal reported.

Prosecutors alleged Leusink, who was arrested in September 2020, stole prescription drugs from homes while enforcing search warrants and took pills from the department’s evidence room. He also was accused of committing several burglaries at five Plymouth County pharmacies dating back to 2017.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation began investigating Leusink in April 2020 after his body camera videos showed him taking prescription drugs from a rural Le Marrs home. He was fired that month.

Agents searching Leusink’s home found more than 1,600 prescription medication pills, several Plymouth County Sheriff’s evidence bags, along with a thumb drive and an iPhone from a case he had worked and $5,432 in cash.

Investigators also found opened evidence bags with missing hydrocodone pills in Leusink’s desk at work.

The DCI also found evidence linking Leusink to the unsolved pharmacy burglaries, including break-ins at drug stores in Akron and Kingsley.

He will be sentenced June 10.