BANGOR X-RAY TECH TO SERVE 9 MONTHS FOR SWITCHING DRUGS AT HOSPITAL

November 18, 2004

NOVEMBER 18, 2004

MARCI A. ALEXANDER, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, 207-626-8555

 

          Attorney General Steven Rowe announced today that x-ray technician James Dearborn, 34, of Bangor, pled guilty Monday in Bangor Superior Court to one count of stealing drugs (class C) and one count of endangering the welfare of a dependant person (class D).  Dearborn will serve nine months in jail.

            The offenses occurred on January 19, 2004, while Dearborn was working as an x-ray technician at a Bangor hospital.  Prior to a procedure at the hospital, Dearborn stole a syringe of fentanyl, a narcotic analgesic, from the tray containing the instruments and medications for the procedure.  He replaced it with a syringe he had in his pocket that contained a saline-like solution.  By the time the switch was confirmed, the procedure had already started and the patient had received some of the saline-like substance, rather than the pain medication.  Immediately after being informed of the switch, the other staff at the facility acted quickly to stop the use of the syringe and care for the patient.  Dearborn was stealing the fentanyl for his own personal use.

At the sentencing hearing Monday, Justice Studstrup sentenced Dearborn on the stealing drugs count to 18 months in jail with all but 9 months suspended, a $750 fine, and two years of probation during which he may not possess alcohol or drugs and must submit to random drug searches and testing.

Dearborn also received a concurrent sentence of 6 months in jail, all suspended, one year of probation and a $500 fine on the count of endangering the welfare of a dependant person.

            This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Maine Office of Attorney General’s Healthcare Crimes Unit, the designated Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for the State of Maine. 

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