Ex-CCI guard gets probation over drugs
Akers
By Shannon Green, Daily Register
A former guard at Columbia Correctional Institution will serve three years of probation on charges that he took prescription drugs from inmates.
Eien J. Akers, 25, of Fort Atkinson, pleaded guilty April 29 to felony possession of narcotic drugs.
Two counts of felony possession of narcotic drugs and four misdemeanor charges of theft of movable property were dismissed as part of a plea deal between Assistant District Attorney Crystal Long and Charles Kenyon of Madison, Akers' attorney.
Akers was charged in November after an internal investigation conducted in July 2006 revealed that medication refill cards containing oxycodone were missing.
Akers was in extreme pain from his teeth after several were pulled in June 2006, the complaint stated. Because of the pain, Akers took hydrocodone and oxycodone pills when inmates' prescriptions were refilled, according to the complaint.
Akers reportedly took one or two pills from the inmates as well as full cards of pills that he replaced with partially used cards of pills. He would take the pills out of the cards and carry them out of the prison in his pockets, the complaint stated. Akers reportedly admitted he has an addiction to medications.
In a case similar to Akers', David Yatalese, 53, received two years of probation in March on a charge of misdemeanor theft and possessing or illegally obtaining prescription medication. An internal CCI investigation tracked missing oxycodone, methadone and hydrocodone back to Yatalese when another prison worker noticed prisoners' prescriptions coming up in need of renewal too quickly.
Yatalese was the third CCI officer to be charged with stealing prescriptions in the last two years.
Mauston resident Mary Gilmore, 26, was sentenced to two years of probation and a drug treatment program in May 2007 for a similar offense committed in April and May 2006.
In January, CCI Warden Greg Grams called the string of thefts a "serious problem."
He said then he would convene a workgroup among the prison's management to examine the system by which medications are administered to see if it can be improved or modernized.
The result of the efforts was not available Thursday.
745-3504
