Family Flags Alleged Fentanyl Theft at Florida Hospital

A family member intervened when Leslie Ann Pope allegedly returned to a critically ill patient’s room and approached the patient’s fentanyl IV equipment at Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital in Port St. Lucie. Pope, a 54-year-old ICU nurse, was arrested Oct. 8 and charged with felony offenses. She denies the allegations, and investigators haven’t determined what she allegedly intended to do with the drugs.

The family raised the alarm

The alleged first incident occurred June 24. Investigators say a family member saw Pope use a syringe to withdraw fluid from the patient’s fentanyl IV, pocket it and leave. The next evening, police say, Pope returned and approached the IV equipment. A family member stepped in.

That intervention drew scrutiny to an employee’s access to a patient’s equipment. Police said Pope wasn’t assigned to the patient. Detectives reviewed footage that showed her manipulating protective caps on the equipment, but they couldn’t determine whether she took more medication during the second attempt.

Pope told police an alarm she described as an “upstream occlusion” required her to intervene with the IV, according to Brittany McNally, a public information officer with Port St. Lucie police. The patient’s significant other, who had experience working in a medical environment, disputed that explanation.

McNally told CBS 12, “But again, she's not even assigned to that patient, so there was no initial justification for her to even be in that room at that time addressing that patient.” She said the family member’s medical experience “caused her to raise questions and caused her to notify the chain of command at the hospital.”

From hospital channels to police

The hospital conducted an internal investigation and contacted the Florida Department of Health, which notified police, McNally said. Police began investigating in August. The sequence moved from a family member’s intervention to hospital and government channels, then to a police investigation.

Police arrested Pope with help from the Palm Beach Marshals Task Force. They charged her with grand theft of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance. These charges are allegations, not a determination of guilt.

Investigators haven’t established what Pope allegedly planned to do with the drugs. “We don't want to speculate what she could be using it for, whether it's personal or, you know, selling it,” McNally said. “We don't have that information at this point.”

The institution’s response

McNally said Pope had worked at the hospital for around six months. Cleveland Clinic said in a statement to CBS12 News: “We take these allegations very seriously. The individual no longer works with us, and we are fully cooperating with law enforcement. Because this is an active investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time.”

The hospital didn’t say when Pope’s employment ended or whether it fired her. The New York Post said it contacted Port St. Lucie Police Department and Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital for more information. Ella Morrison wrote the report, citing CBS 12 reporting based on information from the Port St. Lucie Police Department.

For now, the family offers the clearest account of what first drew attention to the alleged conduct: a witness questioned what was happening, stepped in when Pope allegedly returned, and alerted hospital leadership. Authorities are investigating. What happened to the medication, and what Pope allegedly intended, remain unresolved.