GUNNISON, Utah, Sept. 7, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — The former chief of the Gunnison Valley Police Department has been charged with six drug offenses for alleged possession of heroin, meth, cocaine and marijuana while in office as well as one count of official misconduct.
The charges were filed against Seth Tyler Hendrickson, 41, in 6th District Court Thursday in Sanpete County. Investigation by the Utah County Sheriff‘s Office began in May when a Gunnison K-9 officer found the drugs provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration for K-9 recertification had gone missing, according to charging documents.
Hendrickson kept the training samples of 28 grams (an ounce) each of heroin, meth, cocaine and marijuana in a FedEx box in a drawer of his desk, according to a probable cause statement. The officer said that Hendrickson on a previous occasion, in February, had requested from him a similar supply of drug training samples for a youth presentation on the dangers of drug use, and had not returned them.
“On May 23 the K-9 officer spoke with defendant on the phone and asked defendant if defendant took (the FedEx) box. Defendant stated that the box was in his car.”
Officers then went to Hendrickson’s home in Axtell, Sanpete County, to retrieve his patrol vehicle, the court filings say. Searched at the station, the FedEx box was found with more than what it had originally held.
Officers found opened bags of drugs in the box, according to the affidavit. They were weighed and amounted to 60 grams of cocaine, 45 grams of heroin, 58 grams of marijuana, and 59 grams of meth.
A backpack with his name tag on it and a prescription in his name was found in the car as well as two syringes.
“There was brown residue in the syringes which tested positive for heroin.”
A search warrant for Hendrickson’s hair and fingernail clippings was served on July 17, according to the charging documents. The hair tested positive for codeine, morphine and heroin metabolite, according to the allegations, and the clippings tested positive for hydromorphone and morphine.
According to news reports, Hendrickson resigned as chief in late July over lingering concerns about his absenteeism and administrative practices and the announced criminal investigation. He’d been chief since 2020.
According to court records, he is to be served a summons listing the charges which assigns a Sept. 18 arraignment date in 6th District Court in Manti.
The Gunnison Valley Police Department patrols both Gunnison, population 3,500, and the town of Centerfield, population 1,340, in Sanpete County.
