Nurse Who Stole Fentanyl From Tampa Bay-Area Hospitals Headed To Prison: U.S. DOJ

TAMPA BAY, FL — A nurse from Lakeland was sentenced to federal prison for stealing fentanyl from various Tampa Bay-area hospitals, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.

Eric Brewer, 30, will spend five years and three months behind bars for tampering with a consumer product and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. He pleaded guilty to the crimes on April 28.

Brewer was a Florida-licensed registered nurse who worked at several hospitals in the region.

He tampered with fentanyl intended for patients by removing a portion of the controlled substance from its container, at times diluting it with another substance, and using the drug for his own personal use, the DOJ said.

“By tampering with the fentanyl, Brewer acted with reckless disregard for the risk that patients would be in danger of death or bodily injury and under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to such risk,” the department said.

On seven occasions between June 2 and Sept. 12, 2023, Brewer repeatedly took needles, syringes, and saline flushes from the supply room, entered the treatment room of another nurse’s patient who was receiving intravenous fentanyl, and stole the patient’s fentanyl by putting it in a Styrofoam cup.

At other times, he stole fentanyl directly from a secure medication locker or started and stopped the patient’s intravenous (IV) pump of fentanyl to steal it.

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After stealing the drugs, Brewer injected them into himself in a restroom, the DOJ said.

Hospital administration learned about Brewer stealing the fentanyl on Sept. 12, 2023. Though he wasn’t assigned any patients receiving fentanyl that day, he volunteered to change the fentanyl IV drip for another nurse. He got a 100mL fentanyl IV bag and tubing from the secured medication locker and gave it to the patient.

Shortly after this, Brewer went into a restroom and when he came out, nurses saw him stumbling, slurring his speech, and falling asleep, the DOJ said.

A bloody needle and paper towel, which Brewer used to inject himself with fentanyl, were found in the bathroom, the department said.

A hospital employee reported Brewer to a manager who requested he take a drug test. Brewer refused and was fired.

Lab testing of the fentanyl IV bag he administered that morning showed that fentanyl had been removed from the drip bag and diluted about 50 percent with saline, the DOJ said.

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