Indian Land woman charged with stealing drugs from Tega Cay senior living facility.
A former worker at a senior living center in Tega Cay has been charged with stealing drugs from the center for her own use, officials said.
Shannon Nicole Lowery, 42, of Indian Land, was charged Sept. 10 by S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control enforcement agents with theft of a controlled substance from Wellmore in Tega Cay, according to York County jail records and an arrest warrant obtained by The Herald.
According to the warrant, Lowery took hydrocodone/acetaminophen tablets from the center on July 6 and used the drugs for her own use. Lowery admitted the theft when interviewed by S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control drug agents, the warrant states.
DHEC agents arrested Lowery after an investigation that included information from witnesses and medication administration records, according to the warrant. DHEC’s drug control unit monitors theft or loss of controlled substances in South Carolina, DHEC’s Web site states.
Lowery was employed at Wellmore from April through July 7, said David Dunn, executive director at Wellmore in Tega Cay, in a written statement to The Herald.
“No residents were adversely affected by this employee,” Dunn said in the statement. “We have and will continue to follow the proper protocols from State and Federal Authorities, as well as our established internal policies. We are committed to taking the best care possible of the people we care for and this is self-evident from our 5 star rating.”
Officials from DHEC and Wellmore did not say what Lowery’s job was at the senior living center. Wellmore’s Web site describes the facility as an assisted living community.
DHEC declined to release more information about the incident, said Laura Renwick, DHEC spokesperson.
The arrest was one of two last week concerning former employees at York County facilities who were charged with theft of a controlled substance. DHEC officials did not say the cases were connected.
Opioids such as hydrocodone are legally available only by prescription, according to the federal government’s National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Theft of a controlled substance is a felony that carries a potential punishment of up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, South Carolina law shows.
Lowery was arrested Sept. 10, said Trent Faris, spokesman for the York County Sheriff’s Office which operates the county jail. She was later released on $2,500 bond, court records show.
