Big Bear Official Is Suspected in Morphine Theft

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department publicly named a Big Bear City Fire Department division chief as the prime suspect in the theft of more than 300 vials of morphine from a fire station.

Sheriff’s spokesman Staci Johnson said deputies searched the home of Richard R. Rolston, 46, of Big Bear on Nov. 8 and found “evidence linking him to the crime.”

The Sheriff’s Department took the unusual step of releasing information about the case and naming a suspect before an arrest was made because of rampant rumors in Big Bear about the crime, Johnson said.

Investigators plan to submit their findings to the district attorney by the end of the week.