JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville nurse was arrested and accused of stealing medication from an employer for a second time.
Desiree Lato, 41, appeared in court on Saturday morning after being arrested Friday while working at UF Health Jacksonville. She was charged with one count of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud.
The judge set Lato’s bond at $50,003 and ordered Lato to wear a drug patch, which a source told us is used to absorb sweat and allows authorities to check for drugs in her system.
When Lato was arrested at work, she was already out of jail on bond following a July arrest in Clay County on charges of stealing medication at Orange Park Medical Center, where she worked in the emergency room.
They issued a statement Monday: “Orange Park Hospital has active safeguards in place to ensure medications are administered and accounted for properly. These safeguards led to the discovery of some discrepancies. Immediate action was taken including notifying the appropriate authorities including the DEA, local police and the Nursing Board, and we terminated the employment of the individual.”
Investigators in the Clay County case said the medication she stole was meant for patients suffering pain.
The JSO arrest report, which details the allegation against Lato, was not available despite confirmation that she was booked into the Duval County jail around 1:30 p.m. Friday.
Lato was arraigned Tuesday in the Clay County case and pleaded not guilty, so the case will go to trial. According to the arrest warrant, Lato had been under investigation since March. A hospital pharmacy director told a detective there were multiple suspicious medication transactions from an automated machine that dispenses pills.
The pharmacy director said there were medications that were not scanned as being administered to a patient as well as no documentation as to why the pills were removed.
Investigators said surveillance video pointed to Lato as a suspect. The warrant affidavit also stated that hospital managers questioned Lato and ordered her to take a drug test by urine sample.
One of the nurses who witnessed the drug test told the pharmacy director she believed Lato faked the urine sample by having a foley bag strapped or stuck to her body.
According to the affidavit, the urine sample was not a normal color.
“The medical community is actually very close. So, when something happens, we all know,” said a nurse who wanted to remain anonymous.
The nurse said it’s disturbing that “this information is out there and these people are still being hired to work at the bedside.”
“To hear that offenses like that are happening in our hospitals, that nurses are using and stealing drugs while they are at work is actually appalling,” the nurse said.
Lato has an attorney representing her in both the Jacksonville and Clay County cases. Pre-trial for the Clay County case is scheduled for October. Her next court date for the Jacksonville case is set for Oct. 10.
UF Health sent the following statement when News4JAX inquired about Lato’s employment:
“The individual in question is no longer employed by UF Health Jacksonville. Because this is an ongoing investigation, we ask that you contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for more information.”
We also researched Lato’s nursing license and found that despite her recent arrests on charges involving medication theft, the status of her license is still clear and active with no disciplinary cases.
New4JAX could not confirm if UF Health performed a background check on Lato or reached out to her previous employer, Orange Park Medical Center, to inquire about her employment there. However, a source with UF Health said the hospital is dealing with a shortage of nurses and that they typically check to make sure a nurse’s license is still active and in good standing.