Hillsborough Sheriff's Employee Charged With Burglary

BRANDON, FL — An employee of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office was arrested Monday on burglary charges, according to a release from the sheriff's office.

Christopher Livernois, 36, is accused of breaking into the home of a woman he knows to steal prescription medication, the release says. Reportedly, detectives with the sheriff's office confronted him and he confessed.

According to the release, the victim contacted the sheriff's office on Monday on suspicion that Livernois had repeatedly burglarized her home in the past, stealing oxycodone and morphine pills. She said the latest burglary was on Feb. 6.

The sheriff's office says Livernois admitted to having developed a pill addiction and that he broke into the victim's house multiple times to steal medication, and confirmed that the latest time was on Feb. 6.

Livernois was arrested on charges of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and grand theft of a controlled substance.

Livernois has been working at the sheriff's office since 2001 as a property control specialist at the Warehouse Supply Section. He has been suspended without pay.

Sheriff Chad Chronister said the incident was disheartening, adding that drug addiction can have "very real" effects on people's lives.

"It is especially upsetting when someone’s poor decisions jeopardize the integrity of the Sheriff’s Office and the thousands of employees who uphold its values every day," Chronister said.