A former Denver Well being paramedic has been sentenced to 3 years in federal jail for tampering with fentanyl meant for affected person use.
Christopher Robert Pattinson, 41, of Commerce Metropolis, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Courtroom Decide Charlotte N. Sweeney, based on a U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace, District of Colorado, information launch.
Pattinson, a former paramedic discipline lieutenant supervisor, stole about 1,900 vials of fentanyl from his division over a four-year interval for his private use, the discharge mentioned.
In the previous few months of his employment Pattinson, who hid his crimes by altering hospital narcotics logs and making false entries within the hospital data, tampered with fentanyl vials meant for affected person use. Pattinson tampered with the narcotics, eradicating fentanyl vials from a locked narcotics provide cupboard, and changing the drug with a transparent liquid believed to be saline, based on the discharge. He then returned tampered fentanyl vials to the locked narcotics provide cupboard and positioned tampered vials in narcotics kits for use on ambulances that responded to emergencies.
“We gained’t tolerate medical professionals who put sufferers in danger,” U.S. Legal professional Cole Finegan mentioned within the launch. “Drug dependancy is tragic, but it surely’s no excuse for harming sufferers – this conduct will ship you to jail for a very long time.”
The case was investigated by the Meals and Drug Administration’s Workplace of Prison Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Pattinson, who entered a plea settlement within the case, was additionally sentenced to 3 years of supervised launch after his jail time period.
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