No Prison Time In Beverly Hospital Pill Theft Case

BEVERLY, MA — A Salem woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges that she stole more than 18,000 prescription pills from Beverly Hospital while working there as a pharmacy technician. Salem District Court Judge Robert Brennan gave Lisa Tillman, 51, a 2 1/2 year suspended prison sentence, with the first year served under house arrest. Tillman will be required to wear a GPS tracking bracelet but will be allowed to leave home for work and medical appointments.

According to the Salem News, which first reported this story, Brennan told Tillman "you don't benefit and society doesn't benefit" from incarceration. The theft of more than 18,000 pills, including OxyContin, Percocets and Adderall, is believed to be one of the biggest such thefts in state history.

The Essex District Attorney's office reduced charges against Tillman in February to obtaining drugs by fraud from the more serious charge of larceny of drugs. The office attributed the fact that Tillman had no prior record. When she was arrested in October 2018, Tillman told police she stole the pills for herself, and flushed the ones she did not take down the toilet.