Former Elizabeth Borough police chief pleads guilty to stealing drug evidence for personal use

A former Elizabeth Borough police chief who admitted to stealing thousands of bags of heroin from his department’s evidence room pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of theft of government property, U.S. Attorney Cindy K. Chung said Tuesday.

The U.S. Attorney’s office said Timothy L. Butler Jr., 45, of Finleyville, stole bricks of heroin from June 2017 until December 2018 for his own personal use.

U.S. District Judge Marilyn J. Horan scheduled sentencing for April 4.

Butler faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both. The actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

Butler had already pleaded guilty in state court for the same conduct.

In August 2019, Butler pleaded guilty to theft by failing to deposit municipal funds, drug possession and obstructing the law. The theft charges related to him taking parking meter money, which annually produced $4,000 to $6,000.

He was ordered to serve four years of probation, along with 325 hours of community service.

Butler worked for the department for 19 years and became chief in 2014. He resigned in December 2018, two days before charges were filed against him.

A criminal complaint filed in state court said investigators found more than 2,700 empty, loose stamp bags, used to distribute heroin, in Butler’s trash can. There were 535 more around his desk.

Investigators said they found that evidence envelopes for keeping heroin seized during arrests were empty or had empty stamp bags inside.

Butler told investigators he became an addict after he started taking opioids for neck and back pain, the complaint said.