Nurse in Raleigh who stole surgical patients’ opioid painkillers is going to prison
A former Raleigh nurse was sentenced Monday to four years in prison and three years of supervised release for tampering with opioid painkillers intended for surgery patients.
Melissa Elizabeth Chacona, of Fuquay-Varina, pleaded guilty to the charges in March 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Eastern District of North Carolina announced.
Federal indictment documents reviewed by The News & Observer show that Chacona, 45, was initially accused of tampering with at least 79 vials of powerful opioid drugs such as fentanyl, morphine and meperedine.
At the time, she worked as a nurse at Triangle Surgery Center in Raleigh, an outpatient surgery center, according to documents from the N.C. Board of Nursing.
During an investigation by the board, Chacona said she ensured that she did not contaminate the drug vials that were tampered with and kept the process “aseptic,” documents state. She also said she wished to surrender her nursing license.
Chacona extracted the drugs from the vials and replaced them with saline water between January and April 2019.
The compromised vials were found to contain under 15% of the actual medication and her actions made multiple vials unsterile, according to the Department of Justice news release.
Chacona also has been convicted separately of stealing medication earlier in her nursing career at a hospital in the Triangle. The name of the hospital is not public information, according to Department of Justice spokesperson Don Connelly.
She will be required to permanently surrender her nursing license as part of her plea agreement.
“Surgical patients trust health care providers to give them the medicines they need.,” U.S. Attorney Michael Easley said in the news release. “In delivering today’s sentence the judge noted that these patients were in the most vulnerable position. My office will continue to pursue health care providers whose crimes jeopardize public safety.”
The Raleigh Police Department and N.C. Board of Nursing investigated the case locally along with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Food and Drug Administration.
This story was originally published May 22, 2023 at 2:19 PM.
