On Friday, December 28, 2018, Cpl. D. Reppel of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to the report of a theft at the Leonardtown Rescue Squad on Lawrence Avenue in Leonardtown.
A Chief Medic told police that a paramedic with the Rescue Squad made contact with him about the seal on one of the medical boxes being broken and glued back together.
The medical box contained vials of Morphine, Ketamine, and Midazolam. The box was stored in a secure location within the rescue squad that only paramedics have access. The Chief Medic said the only two medics to have access to that box was the paramedic who brought it to his attention and Thomas Patrick Raley, 33, of Leonardtown.
The paramedic turned the box over to supervisors, to be secured pending police contact. Upon examination of the box, it was determined the seal to the box had been broken, and appeared to have been glued back together to give the appearance it was secure. A check of the inside the box showed that a vial of Morphine and Midazolam had been opened, and the tops had been glued back to appear as being secured.
Police reviewed surveillance videos from the Rescue Squad, and saw Raley enter the building through a rear door on December 17th, Raley was not on duty that day, and had no reason to be in the storage area where the drugs were stored. The videos also showed Raley entering his code to enter the secured area where the drugs were located. Raley then secured the door and left the building without speaking to anyone.
When Raley was interviewed by police and when asked why he stole the medications, he stated he did not know why. Raley called Cpl. D. Reppel a few days later advising he took the medications because he had a substance abuse issue.
Raley was issued a criminal summons on Monday, January 21, 2019, charging him with theft and destruction of property.
Raley is scheduled to appear in St. Mary’s County District Court for Preliminary Inquiry on March 15, 2019.
Because Raley charged by a criminal summons, no booking photo is available.
