MOUNT DORA, Fla. — A Mount Dora Fire Department lieutenant is facing charges after police say he tampered with medication by replacing it with water.
Jesse Ravenscraft, 36, a firefighter paramedic with the City of Mount Dora since June 2017, was suspended without pay and resigned March 13, City of Mount Dora Director of Public Information Misty Sommer said.
Ravenscraft was arrested March 6 and is facing a felony charge of reckless tampering with a product risking injury and a misdemeanor charge of petit theft, following an investigation by Mount Dora Police Department.
“The Mount Dora Fire Department recently identified a discrepancy involving missing vials of Benadryl at one of its stations,” Sommer told Inside Lake. “Upon discovering the issue, the department immediately implemented additional safeguards, including a full inventory of all on-site medications and increased monitoring with twice-daily checks.”
“The tampered vials were immediately removed from service, and a full inventory of all medications was conducted. At no point was patient care or public safety compromised,” Sommer said.
On March 4, after meeting with the chiefs and deputy chiefs from both the Mount Dora Fire Department and Mount Dora Police Department, an officer was assigned to investigate after two bottles of diphenhydramine that appeared to have been tampered with were discovered on Engine 34. Mount Dora Fire Chief Joseph Hightower also reported “several” incidents in the recent past in which bottles of diphenhydramine were found missing, the affidavit states.
The two 50-milligram bottles of diphenhydramine, along with detached caps and a water bottle, were turned over to police. Diphenhydramine is commonly known as Benadryl.
“There appeared to be a gluelike substance on the bottle tops as well as the caps. The water bottle appeared to have a needle hole in it and was leaking water,” the arresting officer wrote in the affidavit.
Police were also provided internal emails from firefighters describing suspicious incidents.
One firefighter reported discovering caps from two bottles of diphenhydramine that appeared to have been tampered with. The firefighter also noted two syringes and a saline “flush” were missing. The total value of the items was listed as $3.76, according to the affidavit.
Another email from a different firefighter stated that on March 3, Ravenscraft asked him and another firefighter to go to a Dollar General store. Instead, they went to a Dollar Tree location. After the firefighter who was driving apologized for going to the wrong store, Ravenscraft asked if they believed Dollar Tree sold superglue, the affidavit states.
The following morning, a lieutenant reportedly spotted a tube of glue on Ravenscraft’s desk and asked him about it. Ravenscraft grabbed the glue and said it belonged to him, according to the affidavit.
Hightower also provided surveillance video that showed Ravenscraft taking a bottle of water from a stack in the fire station bay and appearing to extract water from the bottle with a syringe.
“The suspect took the water from a non-sterile environment and was not wearing latex gloves at the time of this incident,” the arresting officer noted in the affidavit.
MDFD Deputy Chief Dara Hennessey, who is a licensed paramedic, provided a sworn statement outlining the department’s medication procedures, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit states medication vials are prepared and distributed under strict quality control and safety standards to ensure patients receive the correct medication in the proper dosage.
“When a vial is tampered with and replaced with unintended substances, the medication is greatly compromised,” the affidavit states. “Patients may not receive the medication they require for treatment, which can result in worsening of their medical condition, treatment failure, prolonged illness, or even death.”
The affidavit also states introducing an unintended substance into a vial meant to contain sterile medication can compromise sterility and increase the risk of bacterial contamination, which could lead to infections, sepsis or other serious complications. “In the event the vials that appeared to be tampered with were utilized on a patient, the effects could have been detrimental, up to and including death.”
“Based on the information currently available, the incident appears to have involved personal misuse. At this time, there is no evidence to suggest any intent to harm patients or members of the public,” Sommer said.
Ravenscraft was taken into custody March 6, at his Tavares home, and booked into the Lake County Jail, where he was released March 11, on $100,500 bond, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Deputy Stephanie Earley said.
“This remains an active and ongoing investigation, and the City will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement,” Sommer said.
