Authorities arrested a Mead woman they believe stole a pain-medication pump from a soldier who lost a limb in Iraq as he lay in a hospital bed recovering from surgery at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center.
Linda Coulimore, 58, was arrested last night for investigation of aggravated assault on an at-risk adult, said Sharon Avendaño, Denver police spokeswoman.
Coulimore said she has been out of town for two days and when she returned she saw her picture in the newspaper and called Denver police, Weld County Undersheriff Margie Martinez said.
Denver police then called the Weld County Sheriff’s Department and asked deputies to arrest Coulimore at her Mead home, Martinez said.
Coulimore was arrested at 11:15 p.m. without incident and is being held in the Weld County Jail on a $25,000 bond, she said.
Surveillance pictures of a woman in the hospital hallway were widely distributed through the media to aid in the investigation, said Sonny Jackson, Denver police spokesman.
The soldier was unconscious when the woman lifted the device, full of powerful narcotics, from equipment that gave him a dosage intravenously, Jackson said.
Jackson described the drugs as dangerous narcotics.
A police source said the soldier lost a limb in a war-related incident in Iraq.
“This is a very serious crime, an assault on the soldier who needed those drugs,” Jackson said. “Also, these are very dangerous drugs, and we need to find this woman.”
Jackson said the woman might have had previous medical training to find and remove the device. The device was missing only a short time before hospital medical staff realized it was taken, he said.
He said security at the hospital is very good.
“They’ve taken every precaution they can take to protect patients being treated at the hospital,” Jackson said.
As a result of extensive surveillance throughout the hospital, authorities were able to swiftly identify who took the pain-medication device, he said.
“This is rare,” Jackson said. “This is a very unique situation.”
Jackson said privacy rules prevented him from commenting on the soldier’s identity or his medical condition.
In a statement released Thursday night, Presbyterian/St. Luke’s president and chief executive Mimi Roberson said: “First and foremost, the patient involved is doing well tonight. He was not injured or threatened in any way.”
“Patient safety and hospital security are a number one priority for us. We take this type of invasion very seriously and will work diligently with the Denver Police Department and the DEA to find this person.”
“Our extensive security system showed the female struck rapidly and was in the patient area for less than three minutes,” Roberson said. “We hope the security photos help in tracking this person down so she does not harm herself or someone else.”
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
