A home health care provider in Smithville, Missouri is accused of stealing her elderly patient's hydrocodone tablets and replacing them with acetaminophen.
Kerrina Elliott, 43, is charged with stealing, elderly abuse and possession of methamphetamine, according to a release from the Platte County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
“The elder abuse is actually the lesser of the charges, but it certainly gives you the full picture of what was going on,” said Assistant Platte County Prosecutor, Myles Perry.
According to court documents, the patient's care providers noticed that some of the hydrocodone tablets had been replaced with acetaminophen in January when the patient became ill after taking the medicine.
In March, an investigator with the FDA installed a camera facing the spot where the medication was kept in the patient's home. Court documents say Elliott was caught accessing the locked box twice on camera even though administering medication was not part of Elliott's work contract.
She was later arrested after a traffic stop on March 13 in Platte County. During the stop, she consented to a search of her car. Officers discovered a small bag containing a crystal substance, which a field test allegedly revealed to be methamphetamine, according to court documents.
Prosecutors say in a release that Elliott faces up to 10 years in prison for each of the charges because she is being charged as a "prior and persistent" felony offender. Court documents show Elliott was found guilty of six other drug-related charges in several Missouri counties in 2012.
She is being held in the Platte County Detention Center on a $25,000 bond.
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