Nursing director pleads guilty to tampering with drugs

BILLINGS - A Sand Springs woman accused of tampering with drugs at a local health care center admitted to charges today, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

The defendant, Kailyn Marie Smotherman, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with consumer products. Smotherman faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and at least 3 years of supervised release.

U.S. District Court Judge Susan P. Watters presided and will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is set for April 15, 2026. Smotherman remains released with conditions pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that on January 19, 2023, Kailyn Marie Smotherman was discovered to have been tampering with controlled substances at the Garfield County Health Center in Jordan, Montana, where she worked as the Director of Nursing. Staff at the facility entered Smotherman's locked office to retrieve a narcotics log and noticed several suspicious items, including hospital stock narcotics, an IV pole, tourniquets, needles, IV equipment, replacement vial caps, replacement medication labels, and what appeared to be blood on many surfaces. During a subsequent search of the office, staff and law enforcement found numerous vials of fentanyl that had been tampered with (caps removed and replaced) or had been emptied. They also discovered other controlled substances that had been replaced.

Staff reported concerns patients may have received saline solution instead of pain medication in the months preceding the incident.

A forensic chemist with the Food and Drug Administration conducted an analysis of the containers confiscated from Smotherman's office and concluded the controlled substances had been tampered with and adulterated.

The U.S. Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case. The DEA, FDA and Garfield County Sheriff's Office conducted the investigation.

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