Pharmacy worker loses license after conviction for stealing drugs
The Iowa Board of Pharmacy oversees state-licensed pharmacies, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Iowa. (Photo by Getty Images; logo courtesy the State of Iowa)
An Iowa pharmacy technician who was allegedly captured on video stealing prescription medications from a customer has agreed to surrender her license.
According to the Iowa Board of Pharmacy, on Feb. 6, 2024, the Hy-Vee Pharmacy in Altoona filed documents with the board last year alleging a state-licensed pharmacy technician, Mary Ellen Kopaska, 45, of West Des Moines, misappropriated controlled substances from the pharmacy.
A subsequent investigation revealed Kopaska was caught on security video 'removing prescriptions from patient prescription bottles.' Given the formal charges against Kopaska, the allegation presumably refers to the removal of prescription medications from the bottles.
Board documents indicate Kopaska, 'without admission of wrongdoing or guilt,' agreed to surrender her license for the 'admitted violation' of state regulations. The license revocation took effect on Jan. 15, 2025.
The board has stipulated that Kopaska can apply for reinstatement of her license in two years.
Criminal court records indicate that in February 2024, Altoona police charged Kopaska with theft and prohibited acts involving controlled substances.
Police alleged she admitted to taking five Hydrocodone pills from a patient's bag while working in the pharmacy, with the video showing her placing the drugs in her left pants pocket. According to police, she claimed that at the end of her shift she took the drugs home where they were later flushed down the toilet.
In July 2024, the simple misdemeanor charge of theft was dismissed as part of a plea agreement, and Kopaska pleaded guilty to the charge of prohibited acts. She was fined $1,000 and sentenced to two years of probation.
She was also granted a deferred judgment in the case, which will result in the criminal conviction being expunged from court records after the successful completion of probation.
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