Philly Man Arrested For Supplying Einstein Hospital Patient With Heroin And Fentanyl

NORRISTOWN, PA — A Philadelphia man has been arrested and charged by Montgomery County authorities with selling opiates to a patient at Einstein Hospital by sneaking the drugs into the healthcare facility by concealing them inside a Pringles potato chip container.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's office has lodged multiple felony counts of possession with intent to deliver and other charges against Jeremiah Harris, 30, of the 4100 block of Robbins Street in Philadelphia's Wissinoming section.

According to authorities, the investigation began back on June 30 when Einstein Medical Center Montgomery contacted East Norriton Township police to say hospital staff confiscated illegal narcotics from one of its patients.

Nursing staff had discovered 32 baggies of suspected heroin and fentanyl hidden inside a Pringles container that had been placed inside a Wawa bag marked with the patient's room number, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.

After the suspected drugs were discovered, hospital security and East Norriton police reviewed surveillance video from the hospital showing the entranceway where the bag was dropped off just before 4:45 p.m. that day, and the individual making the delivery was identified as Harris, the D.A.'s Office stated.

Montgomery County detectives and East Norriton police subsequently set up a series of controlled heroin and fentanyl buys from Harris, in which police ended up netting around 650 bags of the seized drugs from Harris, according to authorities.

According to a police criminal complaint, two days prior to the discovery of the drugs being delivered to the hospital, a patient at the hospital, whose name was redacted from court papers, was found struggling to keep consciousness in a hospital bathroom and it was later discovered that he had been high on opiates at the time.

Hospital policy says that known drug users who receive packages or deliveries are to have those items inspected by floor nurses to make sure they contain no illegal substances, according to the criminal complaint.

It was during one of those inspections that the 32 packets of suspected heroin and fentanyl were discovered.

The criminal complaint goes on to state that a security officer who was at the hospital during the June 30 delivery said a man, later identified as Harris, had walked up to the security desk and stated, "This is for room 3083," before handing over the Wawa bag. Harris had stated he was told to make the delivery to the emergency room, the complaint reads.

A third floor nurse then got a hold of the bag containing the Pringles container, but she noticed that it felt lighter than a full can should feel, and that the silver security seal underneath the plastic lid appeared to have been tampered with, the complaint states. She then shook the container and noticed it appeared something else was inside aside from chips. The nurse then apparently discovered the small drug baggies inside.

Harris was arraigned on Sept. 21 before Magisterial District Judge Harry Nesbitt, who set bail at $100,000 for each set of charges, according to the D.A.'s Office. Harris was unable to post bail and was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

Harris has been charged with multiple felony counts of possession with intent to deliver, criminal use of a communications facility, possession of a controlled substance and related charges.