Columbus officer changes plea to guilty in cocaine scheme

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A Columbus police officer accused of stealing and selling cocaine has pleaded guilty in federal court more than six months after originally pleading not guilty.

Joel Mefford, 34, of London, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday on four drug-related charges. Mefford's charges include three counts of possession and the intent to distribute cocaine and one count of money laundering. Now, he could face up to life in prison, with no sentencing date scheduled at this time.

He 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.

The indictment against Castillo stated that in June 2021, he allegedly took approximately 10 kilograms of cocaine from a home during an investigation but didn’t turn the drugs in to be logged as evidence. He then allegedly planted two of the kilos at the scene and took the rest to be sold by another person.

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 to police and stole another one to be sold.

Mefford 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.