Mailman arrested in church parking lot while attempting to inject himself with heroin

Mailman Gary Lee Thompson was arrested in a church parking lot as he tried to inject himself with heroin.
Mailman Gary Lee Thompson was arrested in a church parking lot as he tried to inject himself with heroin.
photo Gary Lee Thompson was found sitting in his USPS truck, about to inject himself was heroin. He was arrested and charged with various drug possession offenses.

A U.S. postal worker was arrested this week after sheriff's deputies said he was caught trying to shoot up heroin while on the job.

On Tuesday, a joint task force arrested 50-year-old postal worker Gary Lee Thompson, of Ooltewah. He was booked into the Hamilton County Jail on a handful of drug charges.

Agents of the U.S. Postal Service and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office found Thompson sitting in his truck in the parking lot of the Christ United Methodist Church on East Brainerd Road, "just prior to attempting to inject himself with what agents believed to be heroin," according to a news release.

"Special agents with the [USPS] aggressively investigate allegations that involve postal employees putting the safety of the general public at risk, as in this case," USPS authorities said in a news release.

However, the U.S. Postal Service inspector general said the vast majority of the agency's 600,000 postal employees are "honest, hard-working individuals who would never engage in such conduct."

Thompson was found to be in possession of heroin, methamphetamine and assorted drug paraphernalia when he was apprehended by the task force. He was charged with possession of those drugs and the possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the release.

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