A former nurse has been sentenced to federal prison after admitting to stealing medication from nursing home residents, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
She was arrested after someone reported an intoxicated person leaving the nursing home. The Lawrenceburg Police Department conducted a traffic stop and arrested Hall after she failed a field sobriety test.
Police also located seven syringes containing a blue liquid in Hall’s backpack (which had been left outside the nursing home). The substance was later determined to be morphine.
Hall admitted, according to her plea agreement, that on August 27, 2023, she took morphine that had been prescribed for three patients that she was treating at the healthcare facility, “all of whom had significant disease and pain concerns,” according to prosecutors.
Hall replaced the stolen morphine with water and blue food coloring, to resemble the real medication, prosecutors said. Ultimately, Hall stole at least seven syringes of morphine and administered the tampered morphine to at least one of the patients.
She told investigators she stole the medications between January 2023 and August 2023.
Hall was initially charged with theft by unlawful taking (controlled substance), possession of a controlled substance (opiates), tampering with physical evidence, felony wanton endangerment, knowingly abusing/neglecting an adult, and theft of legend drugs (re: prescription drugs).
As part of a plea agreement, Hall pled guilty in December 2024 to one count of tampering with a consumer product. She was sentenced earlier this week to 60 months (five years) in federal prison.
Under federal law, Hall must serve 85 percent of her prison sentence.
She faced up to 10 years in prison.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
