Story last updated at 9/3/2009 - 9:49 am
A 58-year-old former registered nurse pleaded guilty Tuesday to a felony drug charge after being caught stealing pain medicine from Bartlett Regional Hospital.
Victoria Peppenger accepted a plea deal with the state that calls for 18 months in prison with 17 months suspended. Peppenger has already surrendered her Alaska nursing license. She agreed to never apply for another license in the state as part of the plea deal, public defender Eric Hedland said.
Peppenger was remanded to the Lemon Creek Correctional Center on Tuesday to begin her sentence, he said.
Peppenger was arrested on July 15 on a felony drug possession charge and a misdemeanor theft charge after a doctor at the hospital reported suspected drug tampering. Peppenger admitted to stealing Fentanyl, a powerful narcotic painkiller.
Peppenger entered a treatment program in 1995 due to an addiction to hydrocodone, a narcotic pain reliever, according to court documents. It had been reported by some media outlets that Peppenger had been convicted of a drug crime in the past, which is not the case, Hedland said.
) to vote to remove a comment. Three votes will hide a comment from view.
or 
) to rate comments. These ratings do not effect the status of a comment.
