Employee allegedly stole drugs from ambulance company

John Wilson, a Fillmore resident who was a clinical education specialist for American Medical Response in Moorpark, allegedly stole narcotics from the company to feed his personal drug habit, authorities said earlier this week.

AMR is the largest paramedic first responder and ambulance provider in Ventura County.

The company answered more than 35,000 requests for service in the county last year and transported more than 25,000 medical and trauma patients from those responses, according to the ambulance provider's website.

Patients who needed painkillers during transport to the hospital may have been injected with salt water instead of medicine because Wilson purportedly replaced some of the medication used by ambulance personnel with saline. He is suspected of forging records to conceal his actions, authorities said.

Capt. Ron Nelson of the Moorpark Police said the case, initially handled locally, has been passed on to the FBI since federal drug laws were broken.

"This is a complex case that will be handled in federal court," Nelson said. It includes state and federal charges, and authorities need to find out if anyone was impacted by Wilson's actions.

Professional misconduct charges filed against Wilson include violating state and federal emergency medical and narcotics statutes, excessive use of narcotics and commission of fraudulent, corrupt or dishonest acts.

Wilson is no longer employed by AMR, said Douglas Moore, spokesperson for the company. His license to work as a paramedic in California was suspended last month.

Wilson has entered rehab to seek help with his addiction during the ongoing investigation, according to authorities.

"AMR notified law enforcement authorities upon discovery of a possible theft of medications and replaced its entire stock of the medications in question," Moore said.

The company cannot comment further on the case since a law enforcement investigation is ongoing, Moore said.

Since AMR and the Ventura County Fire Department work together to handle medical emergencies throughout the county, the fire department also replaced all medications it had in stock to ensure that patients get what they need in an emergency, said Capt. Ron OatmanVCFD spokesperson.