Officer dismissed for drug use

  • Published
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFPN) --  An officer here has been dismissed from the Air Force and will serve four months confinement after being convicted of several drug-related crimes in a general court-martial.

Second Lt. Bryce Terpstra of the Air Force Safety Center pleaded guilty to using and possessing methamphetamine and possession of Clonazepam without a prescription. Clonazepam is a controlled substance experts say is commonly used to counteract the negative side effects of methamphetamines.

Terpstra was charged after he tested positive for methamphetamine use during a random urinalysis in September, according to Capt. Mark Trujillo of the 377th Air Base Wing staff judge advocate office.

Court records indicated that special agents from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations searched Terpstra's off-base residence Sept. 25.

Trujillo said the search found a small black case containing a broken glass pipe specifically used for smoking crystallized methamphetamine, a pink pill later determined to be Clonazepam and a white straw. Both the broken glass pipe and the straw tested positive for methamphetamine residue.

The search also found an additional glass pipe, an at-home drug testing kit and an intestinal cleansing solution.

"Terpstra had recently graduated from the Air Force Academy and had been on base less than two weeks when he tested positive for illegal drugs," Trujillo said. Terpstra elected to be tried by a military judge alone.

During his guilty plea, Terpstra admitted to using methamphetamine on one occasion before leaving Colorado Springs, Colo., Trujillo said.

Fellow academy graduates and other officers portrayed Terpstra as a model officer, Trujillo said. During sentencing arguments, defense attorneys asked the military judge to forego a dismissal based on the amount of support received by Terpstra.

The prosecution focused on Terpstra's betrayal and breach of the trust that the public and the Air Force had placed in him as an officer, Trujillo said. The prosecution recommended a dismissal and seven months confinement.

The military judge sentenced Terpstra to a dismissal and four months confinement. Dismissal of an officer is the officer equivalent of a dishonorable discharge, Trujillo said.

"As a result of the dismissal, Terpstra is subject to recoupment of a prorated amount of his educational benefits obtained at the Air Force Academy," Trujillo said.

Circuit trial counsel in the case was Capt. Michael Coco and assistant trial counsel was 1st Lt. Jeremie Lipton.

"This was a tragic case where an officer threw away his career by choosing to use drugs,” said Lipton. “He betrayed the trust of all members of the U.S. Air Force and disgraced the officer corps. This sentence shows that even one-time use and possession of drugs absolutely will not be tolerated in the military regardless of rank." (Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)