Detectives for the Allegheny County district attorney have charged a veteran of the Penn Hills police department with stealing drugs from the department evidence locker.

Lt. William Markel is expected to surrender this afternoon at the offices of District Justice Leonard Hromyak.

Lt. Markel is charged with three counts of theft and three counts of possession of a controlled substance.

The investigation began Dec. 12 when a Penn Hills narcotics officer reported a discrepancy in the evidence locker, according to Police Chief Howard Burton.

"Once I found out about the problem, I called District Attorney Zappala and he assigned outside investigators," Chief Burton said today.

Lt. Markel was suspended from the force Dec. 21 and retired the following day.

"He's been here almost 30 years and was my investigative lieutenant," Chief Burton said.

According to the chief, Lt. Markel is suspected of taking heroin from the locker. Investigators found no evidence that he resold the drug.

Prior to being appointed lieutenant for investigations, Lt. Markel had been a patrol commander.

A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the officer as James Markel. More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.