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YPD Investigation Alleges Drug Theft and Abuse by Coroner Jim Curtice | News

YAKIMA, Wash. – A Yakima Police Department investigation into Yakima County Coroner Jim Curtice has been referred to the Ellensburg District Attorney's Office to determine whether charges will be filed against Curtice.

In the YPD investigation, Curtice admitted to stealing drugs from corpses in his office, taking the drugs at work, and falsifying evidence to pass off the story as an attempted poisoning.

Police began investigating on August 27 after the coroner became ill and passed out after drinking his energy drink. Curtice told police the drink “tasted strange” and then called his wife to take him from his office to the hospital, according to the report.

The YPD report states that hospital test results informed Curtice that he tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl. According to the investigation, Curtice tested his pre-workout mix and a pot of water. The coroner said the pre-workout tested positive for fentanyl and the pot tested positive for fentanyl and cocaine.

Curtice suspected that someone was trying to poison him.

YPD, fearing federal crimes, referred the case to the regional FBI office for joint investigation. A drug search at the coroner's office found a fentanyl pill in a desk drawer and a blender used to grind drugs before disposal, the report said.

According to a police report, there was also a “small amount of white powder” behind Curtice's desk that was considered evidence.

On August 29, Curtice was called in to describe the day of the alleged poisoning. The coroner told police about his normal daily routine, including picking up two energy drinks on the way to work before going to the autopsy.

Curtice told police it was between 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. when he opened his energy drink and noticed a “sour taste” that caused his mouth to feel “tingly numb.”

In this account of events, the coroner told investigators that an ambulance took him to the hospital, unlike before when his wife had driven him. According to the police report, emergency calls confirmed the call for help.

Curtice then told police that his toxicology reports had detected cocaine in his system, but not fentanyl, as he had previously said. The investigative report said the hospital was unable to test for fentanyl.

In the joint investigation, Curtice told officers he had two suspicions about what led to his hospital visit.

“The first is that he drove someone crazy in the drug world and they somehow had access to his office,” Lt. Janis. “Curtice suggested that it didn't actually make any sense.”

According to the report, the coroner's second theory was a ploy to lure him out of office.

Yakima police are seeking charges from the county coroner after there was no evidence of suspected poisoning

“He believes the drugs were placed in his office by someone with something to gain,” the investigation said. “He stated that the cocaine could cause him a reaction that would require the police to be involved and then the media would find out.”

Although he had no evidence to support the claim, the investigation revealed that Curtice named another employee in his office as the only one with something to gain and access to his office.

According to the report, at the end of the interview, Curtice offered to take a lie detector test to exclude himself from the group of suspects.

On September 12, the lie detector test was conducted for Coroner Curtice. According to the investigation, there were “signs of deception” during the reading.

The police report states that Curtice initially stood by his story before suggesting “he had dreamlike memories of drug use.”

In the report of Lt. Janis says the police explained the plausibility of this scenario before Curtice confessed to the story he had hidden.

According to the investigation, Curtice admitted to taking drugs from corpses in his office and to using the drugs at work “over the last few months.”

Curtice admitted in the report to using the drugs at work about three times a week. He claimed he would snort it off his arm and then fall asleep in his office.

Several colleagues interviewed as part of the investigation confirmed that Curtice is known to sleep a lot on the job and has even made errors in his murder reports in recent months.

The investigation also states that Curtice tampered with the evidence presented to police and mixed the narcotics to produce a positive result. According to the report, Curtice did not know what drugs were taken, but suspected cocaine or fentanyl, and he had no other drugs hidden.

Curtice told investigators there was no threat to his life and apologized to police and his colleagues for the situation, the investigation says.

“When asked why, Curtice responded that he wanted to know what it felt like,” the police report states.

A press release from YPD on September 16 stated that the investigation was being handled by a third party:

“An investigation was carried out which resulted in a recommendation that criminal charges be brought against Mr Curtice once there was substantial evidence which did not support the original allegation. Due to a conflict of interest inherent in this investigation with the possible filing of charges here in the City of Yakima and Yakima County, the case has been referred to the Ellensburg City Attorney's Office for evaluation of the evidence and a possible charging decision.”

The investigative report states that a Kittitas County Superior Court judge signed search warrants on Sept. 13. YPD is recommending charges of making a false or misleading statement to an officer, official conduct and tampering with evidence.

NonStop Local has reached out to Jim Curtice and the Ellensburg District Attorney's Office for comment but has not yet heard back.

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