A former registered nurse at a hospital in Douglas, Wyoming, was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2017 on four counts: two counts of tampering with a consumer product and two counts of acquiring a Schedule II controlled substance by misrepresentation, deception or subterfuge. The indictment alleged that 58 vials of hydromorphone and one container of meperidine had some or all of the drug removed and replaced with saline solution.
The news report does not describe how the tampering was first discovered. In November 2017 the nurse pleaded guilty to one tampering count and one count of acquiring a controlled substance by deception. The two remaining counts were dismissed at sentencing as part of a plea agreement.
The presentence report recommended probation, but the prosecutor objected, arguing that diverting and diluting narcotics could have harmed hundreds of patients and that comparable cases nationally had drawn sentences of one to four years. The prosecutor also noted that the defendant did not seek treatment until facing criminal charges.
In February 2018 a U.S. District Court judge imposed two concurrent eight-month prison terms followed by two concurrent three-year terms of supervised release. Conditions of release include home confinement except for court-approved activities, cognitive-behavioral treatment and completion of a substance abuse treatment program.