Former Williamson Co. nurse pleads guilty to taking fentanyl from hospital

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Ill. (KFVS) - A former nurse pleaded guilty to taking doses of fentanyl from a hospital’s medication dispensing machine.

According to a release from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office, Linnea O’Neal, 46, of Norris City, Ill., pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a substance.

As a first-time offender, she will serve two years of probation. During that time, she must do 30 hours of community service, submit to drug treatment and testing and pay $3,500 for fines and fees.

In addition. Raoul said O’Neal can no longer work where she will have access to controlled substances.

“The opioid epidemic has tragically affected too many people in Illinois, and we must take a comprehensive approach to addressing it,” Raoul said in the release. “I am committed to holding accountable individuals who distribute fentanyl in our communities. Health care professionals who have access to addictive controlled substances must be held responsible for misusing them.”

In November 2021, O’Neal worked as a nurse at Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, Ill. where she diverted several doses of fentanyl from the facility’s medication dispensing machine.

Following an Illinois State Police investigation, she was arrested in November 2022 and confessed to unlawful possession of fentanyl.

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