A Hernando County nurse has been arrested and accused of ordering extra medication for patients at a local rehab center, then keeping the drugs for herself.
Ashley Taylor, 33, was charged with 12 counts of possession of a controlled substance, grand theft of a controlled substance, scheming to defraud to obtain prescriptions and obtaining a prescription by fraud.
While working the narcotics cart at the Spring Hill Health and Rehab Center on Cortez Boulevard, detectives say Taylor fraudulently obtained the following: Norco, alprazolam hydrocodone, Percocet, morphine, morphine sulphate, clonazepam, temazepam, hydromorphone, hydrocodone, codeine, and dilaudid.
Investigators say Taylor told them patients never went without their medications because the drugs she was taking were extras.
Law enforcement said Taylor has battled addiction for years after suffering an injury. She would consume the drugs at home -- not at work, she told investigators.
From her home, detectives say they recovered more than 300 empty blister packs -- which once contained more than 10,000 tablets of various medications.
According to state records, Taylor is a licensed practical nurse or LPN.
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