By EMS1 Staff
KYLE, S.D. — A paramedic is charged with stealing several different drugs from a South Dakota Indian reservation ambulance service.
Kelo Land reported that Dane Arredondo, an EMT for the Oglala Sioux Tribe Ambulance Service on the Pine Ridge Reservation, was charged with stealing several drugs, including fentanyl, Ketamine and Midazolam.
Police were alerted to the crime when they responded to a disturbance call at a house. Arredondo and several others were “highly intoxicated,” and sheriff’s deputies found vials of the drugs in plain sight.
An investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services determined that Arredondo had administered the drugs to a patient with a gunshot wound, then kept the excess, despite documenting otherwise.
Oglala Sioux Tribal Ambulance Service policy requires that another medical professional observes the disposal of excess drugs.
Arredondo recently received his paramedic license, which gave him access to the drugs while on the job. He is facing federal felony charges, including possession and healthcare fraud.