A former western Iowa prosecutor was sentenced to jail Wednesday for stealing drugs and for misconduct in office. District Judge Gregory Hulse sentenced former Assistant Pottawattamie County Attorney Jeff Tekippe to 10 years in prison, but Tekippe’s attorney filed an immediate appeal and his client was released from custody after posting nearly $43,000 bond.
Tekippe will remain free until the State Supreme Court decides on his appeal, a process that could take up to 14-months. Tekippe was found guilty last month of two counts of misconduct in office, possession of cocaine and nine counts of theft. He was fired from his job and convicted of taking evidence from the Council Bluffs Police Department’s drug locker.
An investigation earlier this year found scales and baggies with cocaine residue at his home and on a picture frame in his office. Tekippe told the jury at his trial that he often disposed of drug evidence by flushing it down the drain — a practice he acknowledged was improper.