AUGUSTA — A former pharmacy technician completed court-imposed requirements to avoid a felony drug conviction this week, and a nurse started a similar program.
Amanda J. Rickards, 29, of Livermore, had pleaded guilty in November 2015 to charges of stealing drugs from the Manchester Rite Aid pharmacy the previous May and was placed on deferred disposition for a year. Under the terms of the agreement, if she complied with conditions prohibiting her from contact with Rite Aid property and paid a $15 monthly supervision fee, she would be able to withdraw that plea and instead plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of theft.
On Tuesday at the Capital Judicial Center, Rickards, with her attorney Brad Grant, did just that.
She was sentenced to 180 days in jail, all but 30 days suspended, and one year of probation on the theft charge and was given credit for the 30 days she already had served.
That was the sentence agreed upon at the hearing in November 2015.
The theft occurred May 23, 2015, in Manchester.
Also, Rickards’ pharmacy technician license was revoked in June 2015. She had held the license since May 2012. A consent agreement filed with the State of Maine Board of Pharmacy says the board received a complaint June 1, 2015, that Rickards had diverted controlled substances from the pharmacy where she worked.
The agreement says that on May 23, 2015, “Ms. Rickards took 28 oxycodone 15 milligram tablets from a filled prescription prior to it being dispensed to the patient. Ms. Rickards subsequently sold these oxycodone tablets on the street.”
The pharmacy board voted to suspend her license and then offered her a consent agreement, in which she accepted a reprimand and a license revocation.
In a separate hearing Wednesday at the Capital Judicial Center, Donna D. Landry, 57, of Wales, pleaded guilty to stealing drugs Sept. 2, 2016, from the Heritage Rehabilitation and Living Center in Winthrop while she was working there as a licensed practical nurse.
Landry was placed on a 12-month deferred disposition, with conditions requiring that she pay a $25 monthly supervision fee, perform 40 hours public service work and undergo substance abuse counseling.
Under a plea agreement, if she is successful, she can withdraw her plea and the case will be dismissed. If she is unsuccessful, she will be sentenced by a judge on the drug theft charge, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, according to Assistant District Attorney Tyler LeClair.
LeClair said rescue crews had gone to the rehabilitation facility for a worker with a medical problem and found Landry slow to answer questions. She told them she had been taking Tylenol with codeine that she had obtained in Canada.
Once rescuers administered a dose of Narcan, she became more responsive, LeClair said.
The next day, Landry’s husband turned in a fentanyl patch found in her purse that had a patient’s name on it.
LeClair said Landy admitted taking fentanyl patches she had signed out for a patient.
Landry’s attorney, Allan Lobozzo, said Landry had been taking codeine and working a number of second and third shifts.
“She doesn’t remember what happened,” Lobozzo told Justice William Stokes. “It got signed out, and she was the last person in possession.”
Lobozzo also said Landry has begun substance abuse counseling and had undergone a number of drug screens already.
According to the Maine State Board of Nursing, the status of Landry’s licensed practical nurse certification, which began in November 2011, remains active despite carrying an expiration date of Oct. 5, 2016.
A woman at the health care facility said Thursday she was unable to give any information about when Landry ceased working there.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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