A home health nurse has been accused of stealing medication from her elderly patients.
Kimberly Giardina, 56, of Belleview, was arrested Thursday by Marion County sheriff’s deputies on charges of theft and drug possession.
A daughter hired Giardina to care for her elderly parents in Summerfield, according to an arrest report. The daughter was monitoring Giardina’s activities via a Ring camera in her parents’ home when she saw Giardina take some old medications and put them into her car. On the surveillance footage, Giardina could be seen “deliberately sorting through the prescription pill bottles.” The stolen medications included clonidine hydrochloride, Losartan and Temazepam. The daughter called law enforcement.
A deputy went to Giardina’s home and asked her about the missing medication. At first, she said she was unaware of any medication missing from the patients’ home. However, she admitted she had taken “old medications” and had planned to dispose of them. When she was made aware of the surveillance images, Giardina changed her story. She said she had taken the medications to help her father, whom she described as suffering from cancer. She said her father has difficulty getting certain medications…