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A Missoula nurse who admitted to diverting fentanyl and hydromorphone from Community Medical Center for personal use was sentenced Tuesday in Missoula District Court to two years of probation and fined $2,000.

Mary Schmidt Monahan, 61, pleaded guilty in January to unlawfully obtaining controlled substances by fraud, deception and subterfuge. The case was investigated by the DEA and the Missoula Police Department.

According to prosecutors, Monahan diverted fentanyl and hydromorphone from the hospital starting in July 2020 until around February 2021 when a coworker noticed her acting suspiciously.

Court documents allege that the coworker observed Monahan filling syringes with two drug vials and placing an item in her pocket. She also wiped her arm with an alcohol pad and raised it for about a minute.

Monahan then asked the coworker to witness her disposal of the medications Dilaudid and fentanyl.

A second coworker that month also saw Monahan acting in an anxious manner and reported the incident. Monahan’s supervisors confronted her, where she admitted to stealing narcotics and using them.

A search of Monahan’s bag revealed unmarked syringes, some of which were used, along with wrappers from used alcohol swabs. Monahan provided a urine sample, which tested positive for fentanyl.

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