By Robert Patrick
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A former paramedic was sentenced in federal court here to nine years in prison for stealing fentanyl and morphine from ambulances, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Jason Laut, of O’Fallon, Ill., was convicted by a jury in November of 38 charges, including six counts of wire fraud, 29 counts of making false statements on narcotics logs, two counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of tampering with the consumer product fentanyl. He was sentenced Tuesday to 111 months in prison.
Laut was a paramedic, supervisor and dispatch manager with MedStar Ambulance. Prosecutors said he used a needle to pilfer pain drugs from at least 85 vials, replacing it with saline or water and leaving it for possible use by other paramedics.
He altered documents from January 2013 to May 2015 to cover up 91 thefts of fentanyl and morphine, prosecutors said. He altered patient records to falsely show that the drugs had been given to them and altered narcotics logs at Memorial Hospital in Belleville by using a former doctor’s name, prosecutors said.
The handling of narcotics boxes has been changed as a result of the case, authorities said.
Last year, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ranley Killian said in court that Laut had tested positive for fentanyl once.