Ex-Piqua officer pleads not guilty to firearm charge

TROY - A written plea of not guilty was filed Tuesday in a Miami County court for a former Piqua police officer charged with felony improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle.

The charge came after an Oct. 27 incident in which he allegedly was driving while under the influence while on duty.

Justin Augustine, 38, of Troy, resigned from the department Nov. 1 while an internal investigation was underway.

“I resign my position as a patrol officer for the Piqua Police Department. This resignation is effective immediately,” he wrote in the resignation to city law director Stacy Wall.

The felony charge was filed earlier that day in county Municipal Court, where an arraignment was scheduled for Wednesday. Augustine’s lawyer filed the written not guilty plea Tuesday.

Augustine also has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanors of OVI and operating a vehicle without reasonable control. Police reports said he called his supervisor around 7:40 p.m. Oct. 27 to a parking lot off East Ash Street. He found Augustine’s cruiser parked with heavy damage and was told by the officer he hit a flat-bed semi with concrete barriers when he pulled in to the lot at the former Board of Education offices.

Future court dates for Augustine were not listed in electronic court files.

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