A lieutenant who was heading the Ocean County Sheriff's Department canine unit has pleaded guilty to misusing more than a kilogram of cocaine designated for canine training.

John C. Adams, 40, of Toms River is required to serve three years in prison with two years of parole ineligibility under a guilty plea to official misconduct and theft entered Thursday, the county prosecutor's office said.

Ocean County Sheriff's Officer John Adams and his Bloodhound "Cooper" search the front yard of a home in Dover on June 11, 2004. (Matt Rainey | The Star-Ledger)

Adams, who was a sheriff's officer for 16 years, also must give up his public employment and is ineligible for future government work in New Jersey.

A judge is scheduled to sentence Adams, who is free on bail, on April 6.

No one answered the phone Friday morning at a number listed for Adams, and the voice mailbox was full. The identity of his lawyer was not immediately clear.

Prosecutors said they believe that between between May 15, 2015, and Feb. 11, 2017, Adams used the cocaine himself and falsely reported that it had been accidentally thrown away with other canine training supplies. He blamed other members of the canine unit for the cocaine's disappearance, prosecutors said.

Adams was hired to the sheriff's office as a dispatcher in 2000 and became an officer a year later, Sheriff Michael Mastronardy previously said. He said Adams was suspended without pay when he was charged with the crimes in March.

Mastronardy said his office had made "minor policy and procedure changes" to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The sheriff's department cooperated and helped throughout the investigation, prosecutors said.

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati or on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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