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MUNCIE, Ind. – An Albany woman was arrested Thursday on allegations that she stole morphine and other drugs while working as a nurse at IH Health Ball Memorial Hospital.
Alisha K. Sue, 28, of the 10300 block of North Sharp Bend Road, Albany, is charged in Delaware Circuit Court 5 with possession of a narcotic drug, theft and criminal recklessness.
According to court documents filed by Chief Deputy Prosecutor Zach Craig, a member of Sue’s household reported to Delaware County sheriff’s deputies last September he had found liquid morphine, pills, syringes and other medical equipment in their home.
That witness said he began to suspect Sue was abusing drugs about four months earlier due to changes in her behavior and her frequent fatigue.
A check of medical records reflected the several medications found in the house had not been prescribed to Sue, and that she had recently been “flagged” on three occasions as a result of the amount of medications she had retrieved while working at the Muncie hospital.
In September, an affidavit said, Sue told hospital officials she had checked herself into a drug treatment center.
In a March 3 interview with investigators, Sue “admitted to having an addiction to opiate pain killers for an extended period of time.”
She also admitted to taking medications from the hospital several times, and said her addiction “eventually became so strong she would need to use opiates every few hours or she would begin going through withdrawal.”
She acknowledged using opiates “regularly while working her shifts at IU Health BMH,” Craig wrote.
Court records reflect no prior charges against Sue, who was released from the Delaware County jail on Thursday after posting a $5,000 bond.
As a condition of her bond, Judge Thomas Cannon Jr. ruled the Albany woman “shall not directly or indirectly practice medicine” while the criminal case is pending.