Source: Office of United States Attorneys
DETROIT – A Grosse Pointe Park registered nurse, Travis Eskridge, pleaded guilty to tampering with a consumer product, specifically the Schedule II controlled substance fentanyl. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Ronne Malham, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Chicago Field Office.
Travis Eskridge, 53, of Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, worked as a registered nurse in the emergency room at Ascension St. John Hospital. In his guilty plea Eskridge admitted that he tampered with vials containing fentanyl, a powerful narcotic pain reliever, which he knew were intended to be administered to patients in the hospital’s emergency room. Eskridge removed fentanyl from the vials, replaced fentanyl with another liquid, and returned the tampered vials to the locked drug storage system. Eskridge did this with reckless disregard for the dangerous risk to patients that resulted from such tampering. The defendant also admitted that he stole fentanyl vials as part of a pattern of thefts over several months. Nurse Eskridge was immediately removed from his position at Ascension St. John Hospital in August of 2022 when the hospital discovered the tampering and thefts.
United States Attorney Gorgon stated, “Licensed medical professionals are supposed to be healers. Most are. When instead of healing they create a serious risk of harm to patients, the community must and will be protected. This Office will prosecute such cases to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Patients rely on receiving the proper FDA-approved medications from those entrusted with their medical care,” said Special Agent in Charge Ronne Malham, Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, Chicago Field Office. “We must hold medical personnel accountable when they take advantage of their unique position and tamper with medications their patients need.”
Travis Eskridge pled guilty before United States District Judge Susan K. DeClercq. His bond was continued under conditions that included not seeking employment as a nurse. Eskridge is scheduled to be sentenced on September 11, 2025.
The maximum penalties provided by statute for this offense include up to 10 years of imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, and supervised release of up to 5 years. The actual sentence imposed upon any conviction would be decided by the Court, after consideration of the United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The case is investigated by special agents of the Food and Drug Administration.