ROANOKE, Va. – A former Roanoke pharmacist now faces up to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to tampering.
Bryan Lewis, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product, hydromorphone, after prosecutors say a fellow employee at Home Choice Partners found a needle, alcohol pad and bloody tissue in the toilet of an employee bathroom.
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The employee that found the items reported the situation to another employee, according to the Department of Justice.
Prosecutors say that when Lewis was asked about the items, he said they may have fallen out of his pocket. The employee who made the initial discovery then contacted human services and a decision was made to drug test all employees.
Lewis was reportedly scheduled to be off work on the day that the drug test was scheduled, but he was told to come into the office. Officials say he then told an employee that he was the person responsible for the items in the toilet and said he had been participating in the misconduct for nine months.
Officials say Lewis then admitted there was a 50 ml vial of hydromorphone in the back of the narcotics cabinet that was replaced by him with saline.