Worker at Raleigh veterinary hospital stole opioids, police say

A woman who works at a veterinary hospital was arrested Thursday on charges of stealing three drugs, including fentanyl, from the facility.

The embezzlement charge, a felony, stated that Jacqueline Lutz Heller, 40, of Morrisville took two fentanyl patches, 42 milliliters of hydromorphone and 1 milliliter of midazolam.

Fentanyl and hydromorphone are opioids, and fentanyl can be 100 times more powerful than morphine. Midazolam is a sedative.

Police think Heller, whose name is listed in the arrest warrants as Jacqueline Cheryl Lutz, stole the drugs from Animal Emergency Hospital and Urgent Care on Vick Avenue, off of Glenwood Avenue, according to the warrant.

Police also charged Heller with misdemeanor larceny from the facility, based on a value for the three drugs of $452.89.