Polson nurse pleads guilty to drug theft

POLSON — A Polson nurse accused of stealing a painkiller patch off a disabled patient pleaded guilty to the crime, felony attempt, in district court last week.

Pursuant to a plea agreement, the nurse, Michelle Nault, 24, will have imposition of her sentence deferred for three years. In order to stay sentencing, Nault must serve 30 days in the Lake County Jail and pay several fines.

The charge stems from November 2010 incident in which a fellow nurse at the Polson Health and Rehab Center caught Nault leaning through a hospital room window in an apparent attempt to take a Fentanyl patch off a patient’s shoulder.

When the nurse asked Nault what she was doing, Nault said nothing but fled toward her car in the parking lot.

Under Montana law, felony attempt carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $50,000 fine.