By Laura French
PUTNAM COUNTY, W.Va. — A former West Virginia EMT has pleaded guilty to stealing narcotics from safes at his workplace.
Kelly Keene, 49, admitted to stealing vials of fentanyl and morphine from safes located on EMS trucks while working as an EMT for Putnam County, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of West Virginia. Officials said the thefts occurred in May 2019.
“Narcotics housed in EMT trucks are there for a purpose – to treat victims of trauma or acute illness while they are being transported to a medical facility. Keene abused his position to steal fentanyl and morphine – narcotics needed for critical care – for his own use. It is unconscionable conduct by any measure,” U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart said in a statement.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and Putnam County Sheriff’s Department conducted the investigation.
Keene is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 7, 2020 and faces up to four years in prison.