Home Health Care Aide Accused of Stealing Medication From Patient

An Ames woman providing in-home health care has been accused of stealing medication from her own client.

The 29-year-old woman was charged with possession of a controlled substance and fifth-degree theft near the end of November.

The 29-year-old woman had been caring for a 73-year-old Ames woman in her own home when the elderly woman and other care workers began noticing an unusual amount of vicodin missing, according to complaints. The care worker told her employer and police officers that on one occasion, she took eight pills from her client and ingested one of the pills right away and left the home with the rest, but later turned them over to her employer and she was terminated for the theft, complaints said.