Charles City man indicted for stealing pain killers from hospital

CHARLES CITY — A Charles City man has been indicted in federal court for allegedly taking pain killers from a hospital stockroom for his own personal use.

Christopher West has been charged with consumer product tampering, acquiring a controlled substance by fraud, and being a drug user in possession of firearms. West is a certified registered nurse anesthetist who started working at the Floyd County Medical Center in 2017.

Federal authorities accuse him of using his credentials to access fentanyl and sufentanil starting in February 2018. It’s a process that continued until September of last year, when he allegedly chose an additional anesthesia method for a surgery patient so he could use the patient’s leftover medication. That patient suffered additional complications from the surgery which required additional hospital time.

West is scheduled to make an appearance in federal court today.