By: KPVI Staff

A former employee at the Bannock County Jail now faces some serious charges of her own. Thursday afternoon, Margaret Kirby was served a felony summons for drug charges. Bill Kotowski was at a news conference this afternoon with the Bannock County sheriff.

Kirby faces two felony charges of fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance and two counts of adulterating a drug. This comes after a month-long investigation by the Tri-county Sheriff's Association.

Kirby was employed by Correctional Healthcare Management - a contractor that provides healthcare to inmates at the jail. Sheriff Nielsen indicated these charges involve prescription drugs but declined to give too many details.

Under Idaho code, adulterating a drug happens when a drug is mixed or packed to reduce its quality or if it's substituted with something else.

Sheriff Nielsen says prescription drug abuse is a growing problem in this area and it's a problem that can have some very dangerous consequences.

Sheriff Lorin Nielsen: "A lot of times we just start thinking, 'Well, I've got these painkillers that were prescribed for me, you so if you've got pain you're welcome to these,' type thinking. They're controlled chemicals for a reason. Because what's good for one person may be fatal to another."

Kirby no longer works at the jail. She will be arraigned on December 2nd.

I asked the sheriff what effect if any this incident will have on his relationship with the contractor. He said he plans to review that down the road.