Florida

Palm Beach Deputy Charged With Stealing Pills From Dead Man's Home After Hurricane Irma

Authorities say a Florida deputy stole prescription medications from a dead man's home after Hurricane Irma.

The Palm Beach Post reports that Deputy Jason Cooke was arrested Thursday and charged with burglary and grand theft.

Authorities say Palm Beach deputies went to an 85-year-old man's Boynton Beach home for a wellness check on Sept. 12, two days after the storm made landfall in Florida. The man was found collapsed in the bedroom and later died at a nearby hospital.

Later that day, the man's son received an alert from the home's motion detector. Surveillance footage showed Cooke, who wasn't with the deputies that responded earlier, enter the home through the garage. Authorities say Cooke took pain pills, muscle relaxers and anti-psychotic medication.

Cooke was being held on $28,000 bail. Jail records didn't list an attorney.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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