A 53-year-old licensed nurse is accused of stealing narcotics from a Macomb County medical facility.
The Macomb County Sheriff's Office says Karen Spearman of Rockford emptied vials of morphine during her shift that ended Wednesday morning at Martha T. Berry medical facility. Spearman is employed by a temp agency and had just completed her shift.
Per protocol, a regular staff nurse taking over Spearman's medication cart on January 13 noticed some vials were leaking through puncture holes, and immediately notified supervisors.
Management asked Spearman to take a drug test to follow standard protocol, but after consenting, Spearman left the building, jumped into her car, and hit an employee on her way out. The worker was not seriously hurt.
Macomb County Sheriff's deputies arrested Spearman during a traffic stop near the facility.
Investigators later discovered Spearman partially removed morphine from three vials in her cart and added water to conceal the theft.
Jennifer Morgan, director and administrator for Martha T. Berry, commended her staff for following protocol and discovering the missing medication.
"It shows the dedication of the staff here and our No. 1 priority here is the residents and making sure that individuals who do this, there are consequences to everything that they do," Morgan said.
Morgan said none of the facility's residents were affected by Spearman's actions.
Spearman was arraigned Thursday in 41-B District Court on larceny in a building, two counts of adulterating or misbranding drugs or medicine, and driving with a suspended license.
She posted bond and was released and is due back in court January 27.
