By Sonia Smith
The Advocate
BATON ROUGE, La. — Police arrested an EMS paramedic after she allegedly stole prescription drugs from an undercover narcotics detective posing as a patient.
On Friday, Margaret “Peggy” Lignieres, 29, was part of a two-paramedic crew that responded to a 911 call for a man needing medical attention at the Red Roof Inn, 11314 Boardwalk Drive, an affidavit of probable cause said.
Alerted by EMS about a potential problem with one of their employees, Baton Rouge Police Department narcotics detectives had wired the room with audio and video recorders.
After Lignieres helped load the patient into the ambulance, she went back inside his hotel room and was caught on camera taking multiple pills of hydrocodone as well as Soma, a muscle relaxant, and Adderall, an amphetamine, out of his prescription bottles, the affidavit said.
After the patient was dropped off at the hospital, another detective met with Lignieres at the EMS station on Coursey Boulevard and confronted her about the tape, the affidavit said.
Lignieres confessed to taking the drugs and showed the detective where she had them stashed: inside a black plastic glove in the front of her ambulance, the affidavit said.
Lignieres said she had developed a prescription drug problem after injuring her back and had run out of pain medication, the affidavit said.
Lignieres, 1135 E. Lynne St., Gonzales, was booked into Parish Prison on two counts of possession of Schedule II drugs and one count of felony theft, booking documents show.
Lignieres’ bond was set at $10,000.
“This was a result of an investigation started internally by EMS,” said Mike Chustz, an EMS spokesman, declining to describe the incidents that sparked the investigation.
Lignieres, a five-year employee of EMS, was placed on leave without pay following her arrest, Chustz said.
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