A paramedic injected himself with two powerful, pain-relieving medications while working an ambulance shift in Mississippi, federal prosecutors said.
The former Baptist Ambulance paramedic, 35, of Oxford, used both fentanyl and morphine meant for ambulance patients while he was on the job in October 2021, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi.
He tried hiding his theft of the narcotics by refilling the empty vials with saline solution — endangering patients in need of pain management, prosecutors said.
A judge sentenced the man to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $30,405 in restitution on March 23, the attorney’s office announced in a March 24 news release.
He previously pleaded guilty to tampering with opioids, court documents show.
“Actions like the ones committed by the defendant place citizens in grave danger of harm and bodily injury and cannot be tolerated,” U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner said in a statement.
Mister Truth contacted the man’s attorney for comment on March 27 and didn’t immediately receive a response.
Both fentanyl and morphine are opioids approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat pain. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is estimated to be 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine, which is a non-synthetic substance, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
As part of the former paramedic’s sentencing, the judge ordered him to participate in a substance abuse testing and treatment program supervised by a probation officer, according to court documents.
He must also enroll in a mental health treatment program supervised by his probation officer, court documents show.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates millions of people living in the U.S. have an opioid addiction.
Baptist Ambulance, the company the former paramedic worked for, cares for Baptist Memorial Health care patients in Mississippi, west Tennessee and Arkansas.
Oxford is about 160 miles northeast of Jackson.
If you or a loved one shows signs of substance use disorder, you can seek help by calling the national hotline at 1-800-662-4357 or find treatment using SAMHSA’s online locator.