Fresno nurse accused of burglarizing hospital for pain meds

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno nurse is accused of burglarizing his hospital as drugs disappeared when he wasn't even supposed to be there.

"To have someone stealing from a hospital is very unusual because there are so many procedures to protect this," said ABC30 legal analyst Tony Capozzi.

The nurse is now charged with 12 counts of burglary plus embezzlement, grand theft and obtaining a prescription by fraud.

In the early morning hours on April Fool's day, Jason Smith walked into Saint Agnes Hospital. The registered nurse's appearance was notable only because he was on paternity leave and had been for two weeks.

St. Agnes policy says employees on family leave aren't supposed to even be at the hospital. But in a search warrant uncovered by Action News, the California Department of Consumer Affairs outlines why they believe he was there. 17 vials of Fentanyl disappeared on April Fool's Day. It's a powerful pain medication, more powerful even than morphine, and over the course of Smith's paternity leave, investigators say he removed 400 vials of it. And they say he was sneaky, taking three to five vials at a time.

"To only take a certain amount so it looks like a patient's getting it but yet coming back over and over and over up to over 400 vials here? That's a substantial amount," said Capozzi. "If that were to get on the streets it'd be devastating."

Investigators say they found one full vial of Fentanyl and dozens of empties at Smith's home in Clovis.

An Action News reporter went to the house to see if Smith could explain what he'd done. Nobody answered and when we reached his wife by phone, she told us she had no comment. But co-workers told investigators there was never any indication that smith was abusing drugs. In fact, Smith's performance reviews were always good or better and he was once nominated for a Daisy Award for his service. Capozzi says that could be the foundation for his defense.

"Why would someone with a perfect record like this do something like he did?" Capozzi said. "You know, there might've been outside pressures - could've been financial pressures."

Hospital administrators had little to say.

"Saint Agnes is fully cooperating with local authorities," said a statement from hospital spokesperson Kelley Sanchez. "We are unable to comment any further as this is an ongoing federal investigation."

Smith's nurse's license is still valid even though he's now facing felony charges. But a warrant has been issued for his arrest and DCA investigators say the arrest will trigger an immediate suspension.