A nurse who worked in the intensive care unit at Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital in Port St. Lucie has been arrested on charges that she stole fentanyl from a critically ill patient’s IV line, according to the Port St. Lucie Police Department.
Leslie Ann Pope, 54, was arrested on Oct. 8 with help from the Palm Beach Marshals Task Force. Police say a family member first witnessed the alleged theft on June 24, when they saw Pope use a syringe to draw fluid out of the patient’s fentanyl IV infusion, then pocket the syringe and leave the room. Pope was not assigned to care for that patient, investigators said.
The following evening, police say Pope returned to the room and approached the IV equipment again, but a family member stepped in before she could proceed. Surveillance footage reviewed by detectives reportedly shows Pope manipulating protective caps on the IV lines during that second visit, though investigators could not determine whether any additional medication was taken at that time.
When questioned, Pope told police she had responded to an “upstream occlusion” alarm that required her to intervene with the IV equipment, according to Brittany McNally, a public information officer with the Port St. Lucie Police Department. The patient’s significant other, who police say had professional medical experience, disputed that explanation.
“But again, she’s not even assigned to that patient, so there was no initial justification for her to even be in that room at that time addressing that patient,” McNally said. “The family member actually was well versed in the medical field and had a history of working in that environment, which caused her to raise questions and caused her to notify the chain of command at the hospital.”
The hospital opened an internal investigation and alerted the Florida Department of Health, which in turn notified police. Officers began their own investigation in August, leading to Pope’s arrest in October.
Pope faces several felony charges, including grand theft of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, and fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance. She has denied the allegations.
Police said they have not determined what Pope may have intended to do with any stolen fentanyl.
“We don’t want to speculate what she could be using it for, whether it’s personal or, you know, selling it,” McNally said. “We don’t have that information at this point.”
According to McNally, Pope had worked at the hospital for about six months. Cleveland Clinic did not say when her employment ended or whether she was fired, but issued a statement addressing the case.
“We take these allegations very seriously. The individual no longer works with us, and we are fully cooperating with law enforcement,” the hospital said. “Because this is an active investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
