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HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A Hendersonville nurse was arrested charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver a schedule IV drug.
According to the Hendersonville Police affidavit, Sandra Denise Jackson is accused of using juveniles to sell Xanax bars.
Jackson is a long-time nurse who has had run-ins with the law before. Her latest arrest came last week after neighbors reportedly complained about suspicious activity outside her home.
Hendersonville police reportedly interviewed multiple people on May 11 about an alleged disturbance outside the 52-year-old nurse’s Candlewood Drive home.
Jock Owens, who lives nearby, said he spoke with several neighbors about that disturbance.
“I think there was as many as 20 kids here at some point in the day,” he said. “What goes on here is a bit of a mystery.”
According to Jackson’s arrest affidavit, teenagers were yelling in the front yard when police arrived. Officers were able to corral at least two of them, both 17 years old, who were reportedly in possession of Xanax.
The arrest report says the minors told police “Sandra Jackson is giving away Xanax bars for them to sell.”
Hendersonville police searched the nurse’s home and say they found the prescription drug packaged in baggies in quantities of 10, 25, 32, and 50. In the arrest affidavit, police note that an empty Xanax bottle and more than $1,000 in cash were also found.
Jackson is now out of jail on $30,000 bond. The Hendersonville Police Department says the investigation is still active.
This isn’t Jackson’s first time being in trouble.
In 2012, Jackson was the focus of an undercover investigation by the 18th Judicial Drug Task Force in Sumner County. At the time, an agent told News 2, “She has a license and it is being used to pass control substances to addicts, basically.”
She was charged with dispensing medicine outside her license in that case and pleaded guilty to the class A misdemeanor in 2013.
Jackson was ordered to take a class and pay a fine, and her record was expunged. According to the state, she is on probation but still licensed to work as a nurse.
Tennessee Department of Health’s Shelley Walker sent the following statement:
Our files show a Sandra Jackson of Hendersonville, license #7191, who is licensed as an advanced practice registered nurse. Her license is currently on probation. She was disciplined by the Tennessee Board of Nursing in August 2015. You can view the related board order at here.
The board order indicates her license was suspended Aug. 6, 2015. She was also ordered to complete a prescribing course, and the order states when she provided proof of having completed the specified course, the suspension of her license would be lifted and her license would be placed on probation for at least two years. The files show that on Aug. 10, 2015, she provided the required proof and her license was placed on probation. She is allowed to practice under the conditions specified in the board while the license is on probation.
WKRN asked if the latest arrest will affect her license status.
There is no state law or rule that prompts automatic action against a health professional’s license if he or she is charged with a crime. Everyone is entitled to due process. Licensed health professionals are required to report any criminal convictions to their licensure board. A criminal conviction may prompt action against a health professional’s license. The Health Professional Boards have broad discretion within their rules and regulations to impose disciplinary action, and may do so for unprofessional conduct. Rules for the Board of Nursing define actions that may constitute unprofessional conduct but does not limit it to those actions. You can view the rules here.