Nurse stops patient’s IV to steal fentanyl, feds say. He gets prison in Florida
.jpg "A former nurse has been sentenced to prison over tampering with and stealing fentanyl from hospitals in the Tampa Bay area, according to federal prosecutors.")
A former nurse who pleaded guilty to stealing fentanyl from five Tampa Bay-area hospitals endangered patients with life-threatening conditions, federal prosecutors wrote in court filings, arguing prison time is “well-warranted.”
Eric Brewer, 30, of Lakeland, once “started and stopped” a patient’s IV pump to steal fentanyl, then injected himself with the medicine inside a hospital bathroom, according to a sentencing memorandum filed by prosecutors on July 31, ahead of Brewer’s sentencing hearing.
It was one of several occasions Brewer injected himself with fentanyl at hospitals where he worked, prosecutors said. He was accused of stealing the drugs inside the facilities and directly from patients between June 2 and Sept. 12, 2023.
On another occasion, Brewer stole fentanyl from the IV bag of another nurse’s patient inside their hospital room, according to prosecutors.
Brewer redirected the medicine’s flow into a styrofoam cup, prosecutors said.
“Discontinuing this prescribed medication for hospital patients is particularly alarming because the medication is intended to be dispensed to patients at a constant flow to provide needed analgesia,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory D. Pizzo, of the Middle District of Florida, wrote in Brewer’s sentencing memo.
Sentenced to prison
Brewer has been sentenced to five years and three months in federal prison after he agreed to plead guilty to tampering with a consumer product and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud on April 28, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said in an Aug. 8 news release.
Brewer’s court-appointed attorney, Maria C. Perinetti, did not immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment.
In addition to stealing fentanyl from patients as they received drugs, Brewer would take some fentanyl out from its container before using it, then would dilute the remaining fentanyl in the container with something else, prosecutors said.
Brewer also stole fentanyl from a secure hospital locker, as well as needles, syringes and saline flushes from a hospital supply room on multiple occasions, according to prosecutors.
Hospital administrators find out
Hospital administrators found out about Brewer stealing fentanyl on Sept. 12, 2023, when prosecutors said he volunteered to change an IV drip bag for a different nurse’s patient who was receiving the medicine.
After administering fentanyl, Brewer went to a bathroom, where a “bloody needle and paper towel” were later located, according to prosecutors. He was accused of using that needle to inject the substance.
“When he left the restroom, nurses observed Brewer stumbling, slurring his speech, and falling asleep,” prosecutors said.
Brewer would not take a drug test despite a manager’s request, and he was fired that day, according to prosecutors.
The fentanyl Brewer voluntarily gave to the patient that morning was diluted with about 50% of saline, lab testing of the patient’s IV drip bag revealed, prosecutors said.
Fentanyl helps keep patients sedated when used with other medicines for anesthesia, preventing them from moving during a surgical procedure, according to government’s sentencing memo, in which Pizzo noted that “inadequate pain control” can increase chances of vulnerable patients having a heart attack or stroke.
“Brewer’s tampering also presented a risk of contamination, which could have been passed on to patients during the administration of the fentanyl to vulnerable patients,” the filing says.
In the sentencing memo, Pizzo argued Brewer “preyed upon unsuspecting and vulnerable patients suffering from pain and illnesses to fuel his own drug addiction.”
Brewer has been sober since his arrest, according to his attorney, who wrote in Brewer’s sentencing memo that he struggled with drug addiction due to traumas from his childhood and throughout his life.
“Mr. Brewer turned to various substances to cope with the traumas he had experienced, notably Ambien from 2022 to 2024, oxycodone from 2023 to 2024, and finally Fentanyl in 2023 to 2024,” the memo says.
When he took a plea deal in April, Brewer agreed to give up his Florida Department of Health registered nursing license, Perinetti noted in the filing.
Fentanyl can be addictive and deadly when used illegally, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The substance has been linked to overdose deaths in the U.S.
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