Police Say Dispatcher Tipped Drug Suspects

A former Coles County (Ill.) dispatcher has been cited for official misconduct, after Mattoon police say they learned that last April she telephoned a drug suspect and warned him police were enroute to his location. Ashley Sears, 25, was also charged with divulging confidential information to an unauthorized person, and of removing documents from the comm center related to the incident. She faces a maximum of five years in prison if convicted on both charges. According to police, Sears was working in the comm center when a co-worker fielded a telephone call from a citizen reporting a person dealing drugs. Sears heard the information, and then used a cellular phone to call a man, who police have identified as the person that the citizen was reporting. Police found no drugs or other crime when they arrived at the location. The incident is one of several this year involving dispatchers who have been arrested for drug crimes or assisting drug suspects. Read more about the arrest here. Follow-up: Sears was formally bound over for trial by a judge, and shortly after she pleaded guilty. Read about the plea here.