BOULDER — A former Boulder nurse accused of stealing pain medication from surgical patients has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, officials said.
Ashton Paul Daigle, 27, of Lafayette, faces 174 charges for allegedly stealing fentanyl — a strong narcotic prescription medication that can be addictive.
Jeff Dorschner, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said Tuesday that Daigle has filed a notice in federal court that he intends to change his “not-guilty” plea as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
But Dorschner declined to discuss the terms of the agreement. Details of the arrangement, he said, will be made public during a June 1 hearing in Denver federal court.
Daigle faces more than 100 counts of tampering with a consumer product, with each count is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison. He also has been charged with more than 60 counts of creating a counterfeit controlled substance, punishable by up to 20 years in prison per count. Included in the grand-jury indictment are other drug-related offenses.
Hospital officials and prosecutors have said more than 300 patients may have been affected by the thefts, which occurred from Sept. 24 through Oct. 24 last year.
Daigle admitted in a tapped interview with prosecutors that he sometimes used dirty needles to replace the drug with saline or water. Daigle has since tested negative for HIV and Hepatitis A, B, and C.
Boulder Community Hospital sent letters last month to potentially affected patients telling them to call 720-854-7499 for more information.
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