By Megan Cassidy
Trib.com
NATRONA, Wyo. — The probation officer had a habit of spilling pills on the floor, authorities say. Over the course of two days, Ruby Maddox allegedly made away with more than half of her probationer’s hydrocodone, and later took the woman’s puppy.
Maddox, a now former officer for the Wyoming Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole, has been charged with eight counts related to possession of a controlled substance, larceny and official misconduct.
According to her arresting affidavit, Maddox had been under investigation by the Corrections Department’s Internal Affairs Division and then the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office for the past several months.
One of the alleged victims told an officer that immediately after she was prescribed hydrocodone for dental pain in March, she reported new medication to Maddox as a probation compliance requirement.
After offering a discount card for the prescription, Maddox allegedly came over to the woman’s house, poured the drugs into her hand and inspected them. The woman said she left the room for a moment and upon return witnessed Maddox picking the pills up off the floor.
Maddox told the woman that she “accidentally spilled the pills, but found all of them,” the affidavit states.
After the woman returned home from work later that day, she said she noticed there seemed to be fewer pills in the bottle than before, prompting her to count them. She was missing five. She said she additionally searched the kitchen, where the spill had occurred, and found nothing.
The next day, the woman said Maddox showed up at her residence again, this time offering to help clean the kitchen. When the woman said the kitchen had already been cleaned, Maddox reportedly insisted, and urged the alleged victim to go work in other areas of the house.
Already suspicious from the previous day’s event, the woman said she checked the hydrocodone bottle again after Maddox left and found seven more pills were missing.
Some time later, the woman said, Maddox returned to the probationer’s house and noticed a new puppy. The woman said Maddox was “very critical” of the pet in the residence and said the woman should have checked with her probation officer before getting it. The woman said she agreed to give the puppy away, and later Maddox sent her a text message stating that she had found a home for the dog.
According to the affidavit, a subsequent investigation revealed the home Maddox was referring to was her own and that she had taken possession of the puppy. An investigator from the Corrections Department eventually “collected the puppy from Maddox and returned it to the rightful owner,” the record states.
Another one of Maddox’s probationers reported nearly the same incident with painkillers, down to the hand inspection and accidental spill. An apparent acquaintance of Maddox’s additionally reported an entire bottle had been stolen from her medicine cabinet during a period when the defendant had been the only one with access to the bathroom.
During the investigation, Maddox’s supervisor told officers she had gone to the defendant’s desk and found a hidden envelope of cash. Maddox had allegedly collected the money from co-workers under the guise of renting a dunk tank for a fundraising event. An investigation later revealed that another group had, in fact, paid for the dunk tank, and none of the proceeds Maddox gathered had been donated to the appropriate charity.
Maddox appeared in Natrona County Circuit Court Friday after being arrested earlier that day. Maddox told Judge Michael Huber that she was currently employed by Poplar Living Center.
The state asked for a $5,000 cash or surety bond. Maddox’s attorney Frank Chapman argued that his client had close ties to the community, and Huber instead ordered a $10,000 personal recognizance bond.
When asked about the case, Wyoming DOC public information officer Tim Lockwood said all prospective employees are given background checks and drug tests that include the detection of Schedule II drugs. He additionally said former employers are asked a “battery of questions” about the applicants.
Maddox’s last day as a probation and parole agent was July 3.
Maddox should receive a preliminary hearing within 10 days.
Reprinted with the permission of Trib.com