Woman accused of stealing opioids from vet had illegal pills in Wake jail, police say

A veterinary-hospital employee charged last week with lifting fentanyl and two other drugs from the facility was accused Saturday of illegally having two drugs among her possessions at the Wake County Detention Center.

Jacqueline Lutz Heller, 40, of Morrisville was charged by sheriff’s deputies while she was in custody on embezzlement and larceny charges involving the drugs at the vet’s.

Jail authorities said Heller, who is listed on a magistrate’s order as Jacqueline Cheryl Lutz, had 37 pills containing Ultram, a brand of the opioid tramadol, in a bottle labeled as containing Prozac and 27 alprazolam pills in a container with another woman’s name as the person to whom it was prescribed.

On Aug. 16, Raleigh police arrested Heller at the Animal Emergency Hospital and Urgent Care on Vick Avenue. She was jailed later that day.

Arrest warrants had accused Heller of embezzling two fentanyl patches, 42 milliliters of hydromorphone and 1 milliliter of midazolam intended for use on animals.

The new charge about the pills in the detention center, which is a felony, brought her bail to $9,500 on all charges.

This story was originally published August 20, 2018 at 12:17 PM.