A nurse from Lakeland has received a five-year federal prison sentence after admitting guilt to taking fentanyl from patients in the Tampa Bay area.

According to U.S. Attorney Greg Kehoe’s office, 30-year-old Eric Brewer was employed at several hospitals throughout Tampa Bay, where he unlawfully took or compromised fentanyl supplies at five different locations.

In 2023, Brewer was caught taking needles, syringes, and saline flushes from a supply room. He would enter another nurse’s patient’s room and remove fentanyl from a patient’s drip, diverting it into a cup. This activity was repeated by Brewer seven times from June 2 to September 12.

Additionally, Brewer accessed secured lockers to steal the drug directly. On some occasions, he diluted the fentanyl with saline to keep the portion he extracted for himself and temporarily halted a patient’s fentanyl IV pump to siphon it off.

Afterwards, Brewer would go to the restroom to inject himself with the drugs.

Brewer’s misconduct was uncovered in September 2023 when he offered to replace a fentanyl IV drip bag for a patient’s nurse. He retrieved a 100 mL bag from a secure locker and administered it to the patient before heading to the bathroom.

Colleagues at the hospital observed that Brewer was slurring his speech, stumbling, and drowsy upon exiting the restroom. A bloody needle and a paper towel were discovered in the bathroom, prompting an employee to alert a manager.

Brewer refused to take a drug test when asked by management and was subsequently fired. Lab testing of the IV drip bag revealed that some fentanyl had been taken from it, and it had been diluted approximately 50% with saline.

He was charged with tampering with a consumer product and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. He pleaded guilty in April of this year and will serve five years and three months in federal prison.