Stephenson County Coroner Tim Leamon, 37, said in his letter of resignation that he has struggled with mental health problems since his return from service in Iraq in 2007. | Adobe Stock
Stephenson County Coroner Tim Leamon, 37, said in his letter of resignation that he has struggled with mental health problems since his return from service in Iraq in 2007. | Adobe Stock
Stephenson County Coroner Tim Leamon resigned in January after being sentenced to 24 months of probation for drug possession.
Stephenson County Board Chairman Bill Hadley said that Leamon, 37, did not cite a reason for his resignation in the letter that Hadley received from him, WREX reported.
However, Leamon stated in the letter that he has struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder since he returned from service in Iraq in 2007, the Freeport News Network reported. He said that his situation declined in later years after learning of the deaths of individuals he had served with and that he plans to focus on his mental health and well-being.
Leamon pleaded guilty in December to possession of oxycodone without a prescription, the Journal-Standard reported. The charge to which he pleaded guilty is a Class 4 felony.
In addition to the two years of probation, Leamon was given 30 hours of community service and ordered to undergo a mental-health evaluation, the Journal-Standard reported. He is also subject to random drug testing under his sentence.
Stephenson County State’s Attorney Carl Larson said that the “second-chance” probation Leamon received offers the potential for the charges to still be dismissed, the Journal-Standard reported.
“If the individual successfully completes the probation, there’s a chance the original charge would be dismissed,” he said. “A second-chance probation would not require Leamon to step down as coroner.”
Montana Bartell, Stephenson County deputy coroner, is set to take over for Leamon until a replacement coroner is found.
Leamon had served as Stephenson County coroner since 2016 when he was elected to the position, the Freeport News Network reported. He had retained his office in the November election, only about a month before his arrest for drug possession.
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