# Medic Steals meds



## tacorican (Dec 9, 2009)

What was he thinking???

A Morgan Hill paramedic has been arrested and charged in connection with theft of prescription pain pills from the home of a patient he helped transport to the hospital.

Paul Alexander, 46, is being held in Santa Clara County jail on two counts of burglary.

Police said Alexander was one of the paramedics with American Medical Response Paramedic, who responded to a home injury call on Nov. 23 at Warren Avenue.

The unidentified 76-year-old victim was transported by AMR to the hospital, police said. The next day, Alexander, in paramedic uniform, returned to the victim's home.

He asked to inventory the victim's prescribed medication, police said, telling the victim that the list was lost the day before.

Police said Alexander briefly went to the bathroom in the home and then left. The following days, he returned three more times to the home, police said.

On the last day, the victim's wife went to retrieve a pain pill from the bathroom medicine cabinet and found the pill bottle empty.

The victim told police that Alexander apologized to him on Nov. 29 for taking the pills.


----------



## gicts (Dec 9, 2009)

WOW!


----------



## EMSLaw (Dec 9, 2009)

This is unfortunately not an unusual story.  I strongly suspect more medics lose their licenses over misappropriation of narcotics than over gross malpractice, though I have nothing to prove that, and it's worth exactly nothing. 

Of course, stealing it from the patient takes things to a new low.  But you have to admire the degree of base cleverness it involves - after all, drug boxes are inventoried.


----------



## foxfire (Dec 10, 2009)

Whoa!!


----------



## emtzach03 (Dec 10, 2009)

this will sound horrable but my brain has a couple wires crossed..... if your gonna take pain meds wouldnt you think that maby you would take them from oh I dont know a hospice pt that wont be coming back to realize the meds are missing.... duh


----------



## JPINFV (Dec 10, 2009)

"Uhh, yea... err... I need to write down those medications again... err... yea... It's the damnest thing, actually. I just keep losing that list between here and the office."


----------



## emtzach03 (Dec 10, 2009)

what would be worse tho is he taking the meds or selling bad either way of course but.............:sad:


----------



## Nick647 (Dec 10, 2009)

F'in moron.  Talk about givin a bad name to a real good profession.  Theres always bad guys and good guys. :glare:


----------



## RyanMidd (Dec 11, 2009)

Am I the only one who's wondering why he went back 3 times? If you're going to break the law, might as well just pocket the whole thing the first time around.


----------



## Seaglass (Dec 11, 2009)

RyanMidd said:


> Am I the only one who's wondering why he went back 3 times? If you're going to break the law, might as well just pocket the whole thing the first time around.



Maybe he thought taking it gradually wouldn't get him noticed. But my suspicion is he thought he had more self-control than he actually did.


----------



## RESQ_5_1 (Jan 18, 2010)

I have heard of Paramedics stealing Narcotics from the vials on car and replacing the amount with saline.


----------

