Former Mason City Police Department employee pleads guilty to taking prescription drugs from drop-off site

MASON CITY — A former administrative assistant with the Mason City Police Department charged with illegally possessing prescription drugs has received a deferred judgment after pleading guilty.

43-year-old Melinda Severs of Dumont was accused of taking prescription medication that was dropped off at the Police Department, which is a disposal location for unused and unwanted medications, and putting it in her backpack. A search warrant was executed on Severs’ office where tablets of hydrocodone from the controlled delivery were allegedly located inside a pill bottle with the defendant’s name on it inside the backpack.

Severs was charged with two serious misdemeanors for prescription drug possession. Online court records indicate she pleaded guilty to one of the two charges on Monday in Cerro Gordo County District Court.

Judge Adam Sauer issued a deferred judgment, meaning that the conviction will be cleared from Severs’ record if she successfully completes her sentence. Sauer sentenced her to 365 days of probation and issued a $315 civil penalty.