Assistant EMS chief pleads guilty to theft of drugs charges

PLEASANT TOWNSHIP — A local assistant EMS chief has pleaded guilty to felony charges connected to his time at another department.

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Justin Whitehead, Assistant Chief of EMS Operations for the Pleasant Township Fire Department in Clark County, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of drugs on Friday, a spokesperson for the department confirmed. The charges were filed in neighboring Madison County.

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The offenses were in connection to how controlled substances were handled during Whitehead’s time with the Madison County Emergency Medical District, where he served as an administrative officer.

The charges are part of an open criminal case filed in Madison County Common Pleas Court. Madison County court records show Whitehead is scheduled to be sentenced in December.

“During the investigation into those offenses by the State of Ohio, further investigation and audit took place at Pleasant Township Fire Department to determine if anything had taken place there as well, finding no criminal activity related to Mr. Whitehead at Pleasant Township,” Lt. Kristopher Shultz, Public Information Officer for the Pleasant Township Fire Department, said.

After consultation with the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office, there was no impact to Whitehead’s employment status in Pleasant Township during the court proceedings. He continued in a command capacity, but hasn’t engaged in unsupervised direct patient care or in providing training through the department.

Following his plea, the Pleasant Township Fire Department and the Board of Trustees of Pleasant Township “are currently engaged in taking appropriate action regarding” Whiteheads service with the department.

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