Two nurses at Ohio Regional Jail accused of stealing drugs from facility

Snyder and Gray, who were each charged with one fourth-degree felony count of theft, according to Athens County Municipal Court records, had the charges against them dismissed this week after they pleaded not guilty last week to the charges. Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn said Monday that he expects their cases to be presented to an Athens County Grand Jury once more information has been gathered.

County Sheriff Rodney Smith said Monday that Snyder initially contacted the sheriff’s office to report a theft in a different case, and that she was arrested on Oct. 16 after deputies uncovered additional information while investigating that case.

“….During the interview with Ms. Snyder she then admitted to taking prescription medication from the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail without permission,” the report reads. “She admitted to how she did it, and what she did with it, stating there was prescription medication from the jail at her residence. She further implicated other employee’s (sic) of the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail that has (sic) also taken prescription medication from the facility without permission. Ms. Snyder further disclosed her intimate relationships with other jail employee’s (sic) and her use of narcotics.”

According to a release from the Sheriff’s Office sent Wednesday, through the course of the investigation into Snyder, the Sheriff’s Office “learned that Gray also had taken medication without permission” from the jail, and he was arrested, also on Oct. 16.

SEORJ Warden Joshua VanBibber said Monday that Snyder was “terminated from our employment” last Wednesday, and Gray was placed on paid administrative leave later that day.

He added that the Ohio Pharmacy Board will visit the jail to make sure that “our procedures are being done correctly and to give us recommendations if we have any faults or issues with our current procedures.” He also said that the jail’s contracted medical service, Team Health, plans to visit the jail to do a “quality assurance check” to see what happened, and “where any issues may have come from.”

VanBibber said, in reference to the last portion of the incident report listed above, that the jail has policies that stipulate that intimate or sexual relationships with another employee must be disclosed only if an employee is in a relationship with a direct supervisor. He said the jail is currently investigating whether that was the case with Snyder.

VanBibber added that no other employees have been terminated or suspended recently for drug theft or sexual conduct/inappropriate relationships on the job.