HIV-Positive Surgical Tech Behind Bars, Again
DENVER (CBS4) - The surgery technician who pleaded guilty to taking fentanyl from patients at Swedish Medical Center and sentenced to 6 ½ years in prison last month is back in police custody.
As part of his guilty plea agreement, Rocky Allen, a former Navy medic who is also HIV positive, was allowed to voluntarily surrender to begin his sentence.
The theft of painkillers raised concerns that thousands of patients may have been exposed to the disease, as well as hepatitis B and hepatitis C, through possibly contaminated needles.
It cost $800,000 to test all the patients who may have been exposed to the diseases. The state health department found no evidence of HIV transferred from Allen to anyone else.
The judge denied a request by Allen's attorneys that he be allowed to visit family in Idaho before beginning his sentence, but he did so anyway, according to court documents.
On or about Nov. 21 Allen contacted his supervising probation officer and said that he wanted to surrender early to begin his sentence. Allen made arrangements with his case manager at the halfway house to leave on Nov. 23 to travel to the federal correctional institution in Sheridan, Ore.
Allen left on Nov. 23 but did not travel to the prison. Instead he traveled to Idaho to visit and spend time with family. Allen's probation officer learned on or about Dec. 2 that he did not surrender to the prison.
On Monday, Allen was ordered to return to Colorado and will be brought before the court to face charges of criminal contempt.
This wasn't Allen's first encounter with allegations of painkiller theft. He was fired from four hospitals around the West for similar allegations, including California, Washington and Arizona. All were put on alert and patients were tested as a precaution.
He was also court-martialed for stealing drugs while serving in Afghanistan in 2011.
