HARALSON COUNTY, Ga. — A man already under arrest for impersonating a nurse is facing dozens of new charges for illegally dispensing medications, including morphine, to patients at a Buchanan nursing home.
Lonnie Releford, 56, was one of many on a state registry that keeps track of nursing imposters.
Investigators told Channel 2’s Tom Regan he worked at Buchanan Healthcare for a 10-day period from late March to early April.
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They say he got the temp job using a false identification and false LPN certification. Releford is in custody at the Fulton County Jail.
“He was administering drugs, narcotics, we have 49 counts on him as of how,” said Major Blane Cochran with Buchanan police.
Cochran said that included morphine, other painkillers and “Schedule I through V” drugs.
The nursing home contacted police after seeing a Channel 2 report on Releford’s arrest last week in Atlanta for falsely impersonating a nurse to get a job there.
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Police say Releford stole the identification and LPN certification of Robert Williams, who has practiced nursing for over 30 years and currently works at a hospital in Albany.
Channel 2 spoke with Williams over the phone, and he says he has no idea how the accused nurse imposter got ahold of his identification and nursing credentials.
“It is upsetting,” he said. “I’m just glad they caught him.”
Police say they have no information that the nurse imposter was stealing drugs for personal use.
He’s facing 49 counts, 48 of them felonies. The nursing home had no comment on his arrest.
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