COLUMBIANA CO. Two nurses face charges in theft of drugs from health facilities

The state pharmacy board investigated.
LISBON -- Two nurses are charged with drug offenses in separate instances of stealing painkillers.
A Columbiana County grand jury recently handed up secret indictments charging Kami Jo Peck-Rotellini, 27, of Y & amp;O Road, East Liverpool, with five counts of stealing drugs and five counts of illegal processing of drug documents.
The charges are fourth-degree felonies, each bearing maximum penalties of 18 months in prison.
Lucinda Johnston, 48, of Township Line Road, Wellsville, was secretly indicted on seven counts of stealing drugs and seven counts of illegal processing of drug documents.
Although Johnston's charges are titled the same, the felony level on some of them is different than on Peck-Rotellini's because some of the charges involve different drugs, county Prosecutor Robert Herron said today.
Twelve of the offenses against Johnston are fourth-degree felonies, and two are fifth-degree felonies, bearing a maximum penalty of a year in prison.
The accusations
Peck-Rotellini, formerly a registered nurse at East Liverpool City Hospital, is accused of taking drugs from the hospital and altering records.
The offenses occurred from October through November, authorities say.
Johnston was a licensed practical nurse at Calcutta Health Care Center in St. Clair Township.
She is accused of taking medicine and then altering records from July through December.
Both women lost their jobs after probes by the state pharmacy board, Herron said.
The women are free on bond.