KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Joseph L. Comstock, a 31-year-old former paramedic from Bethany, Missouri, has pleaded guilty to tampering with pain-killing drugs, including fentanyl and morphine, in a federal court in Missouri.
According to the plea agreement, Comstock tampered with the drugs while working at the NTA Ambulance District in Bethany and the Community Ambulance District of Daviess County in Gallatin, Missouri, in 2014 and 2015. He admitted to emptying vials of morphine and fentanyl, taking the drugs for his personal use, and replacing them with sterilized water.
Comstock’s actions put the lives of patients at risk, and he personally treated at least two patients with tampered drugs. He admitted to tampering with the drugs on multiple occasions, including on March 19 and March 23, 2015, which were recorded on surveillance video.
The investigation began in March 2015, when federal officials were notified of possible drug tampering at the NTA Ambulance District in Bethany. An employee had noticed two morphine syringes with broken tamper-evident seals, and a subsequent investigation found several other drugs with loose caps or broken tamper-evident seals.
Comstock is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison. He is currently awaiting sentencing.
Defendant: Joseph L. Comstock, 31, of Bethany, Mo.
Criminal Charges: Three counts of tampering with a consumer product (fentanyl and morphine) with reckless disregard for the risk that another person would be placed in danger of death or bodily injury, and under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to such risk.
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Date: 2015
Sentence: Awaiting sentencing
Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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