Former Adams County Coroner pleads Guilty to drug charge, gets probation

7 years, 5 months ago by Scott Hardy

James Keller entered plea Thursday as part of settlement with prosecutors

Former Adams County Coroner Jim Keller, facing one count of Official Misconduct, has pleaded Guilty to a lesser charge and been sentenced to probation.

 That change in plea was entered Thursday at a hearing in Adams County Circuit Court. Keller pleaded Guilty to one count of a possession of a controlled substance, and was sentenced to two years' probation in a first offender program. If he stays out of trouble, the charge will be wiped off his record. The change in plea was part of a settlement with the State's Attorney's Appellate Prosecutor's office. According to our news gathering partners at KHQA, Prosecutor Matt Goetten said Friday that Keller was found to have had hydrocodone in his home without authorization. Goetten said that's what the Illinois State Police found when they searched Keller's home after his resignation last June. Goetten added that Keller wasn't taking any drugs or selling them while accumulating them in his home. Keller had been accused of not properly accounting for medications he collected while Coroner from January to June 2018. Moments after his resignation was accepted by the Adams County Board in late June, it was revealed that Keller was being investigated. The investigation started just a day before Keller announced his resignation, when a County resident filed a criminal complaint in Adams County. 

If convicted on the Misconduct charge, he could have been sentenced to up to 5 years in prison.