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NAMPA — A Karcher Estates nurse is due in court Wednesday on suspicion of possessing drugs that were stolen from the retirement and assisted living home in Nampa, according to a police report.
Jennifer Talich, 32, was arrested July 18 after an investigation that started as a report of missing hydrocodone pills from a resident’s room.
An employee at Karcher Estates told police that Talich had reported the pills missing, according to a probable cause affidavit.
After an in-house investigation, the pills were not located, and the employee began to suspect Talich might have taken the pills, according to the document.
Police say that when she was questioned, Talich told them she did not steal the pills, and she gave an officer permission to search her vehicle and purse. Before police searched her purse, Talich told police she had medications inside, according to the affidavit.
Upon searching Talich’s purse, police say they found seven types of prescription drugs packaged in clear plastic bags, according to the affidavit. The document states hydrocodone pills were located in her purse in the original packaging from the pharmacy.
After locating the drugs, police say Talich admitted to stealing the hydrocodone pills prescribed to a resident, according to the affidavit. Talich told police she was stealing hydrocodone from residents at the facility for the past six months, according to the document. Ten more stolen hydrocodone pills were located in a brown bag in the trunk of her car, according to the document.
In addition to the drugs located in her purse, police reported numerous empty packages of hydrocodone as well. She told police she had heard that law enforcement had been called, and she flushed all of the pills down the toilet in the lobby area of Karcher Estates, according to the affidavit.
Police say Talich said she had a prescription for some of the medicine found in her purse. But Talich told police that she did not have a prescription for hydrocodone.
Karcher Estates representatives could not be reached for comment Monday.
Talich is scheduled to appear Wednesday in 3rd District Court on a felony charge of destruction of evidence, a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance, three misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and one misdemeanor theft charge.