Narcotics officer charged with skimming illicit drugs from evidence

PLAINS TWP. — A Plains Township police officer and member of the Luzerne County Drug Task Force was arraigned Friday on allegations he skimmed crack cocaine seized during drug investigations.

Timothy Minnick, 45, was charged by Luzerne County detectives with acquisition of a controlled substance by deception, theft, obstructing administration of law and tampering with public records.

Minnick surrendered with his attorney, Frank T. McCabe II, when he was arraigned by District Judge Kyle Halesey, who released him on $50,000 bail.

Plains Township Police Chief Dale Rinker said Minnick was suspended in April and with the developments of criminal charges being filed, the situation became a “personnel matter.”

An investigation by county detectives began when Minnick was found near Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center hallucinating and disoriented on April 26, according to court records.

Minnick claimed he had smoked crack cocaine, court records say.

Detectives searched Minnick’s police vehicle allegedly finding small pieces of a white rock-like substance and conducted an audit of drug cases in Minnick’s office.

Several evidence envelopes sealed with evidence tape had been tampered with handwritten descriptions of its contents including the name of the illicit drug, approximate weight and case number.

One envelope found in Minnick’s desk had the words, “crack, 12g” and a case number but did not contain any crack cocaine, court records say.

Four other envelopes inside Minnick’s office had allegedly been tampered, court records say, while a fifth envelope listed a case number, date, fentanyl and 3g weight did not have an evidence label.

Detectives in court records allege they discovered at least two envelopes containing drugs seized during drug buys on Jan. 24, 2023, and another Nov. 9, 2023, were never sent to a laboratory to be analyzed.

After Minnick was found outside the hospital April 26, he sought treatment at facility, court records say.