A 42-year-old Lacey woman faces allegations she illegally prescribed 5,475 oxycodone tablets to a former patient — and sent those prescriptions to seven different pharmacies in Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater and Centralia.
Rebecca S. Taylor made a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Nov. 18.
Taylor was charged with two counts of delivery of a controlled substance, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $25,000 in fines.
According to the probable cause affidavit filed by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office, the investigation began Sept. 12, 2024 when Centralia police spoke to a pharmacist at the local Rite Aid who had received an oxycodone prescription from Taylor.
The pharmacist reportedly claimed a man with the same last name as the patient had picked up the prescription the day before. The pharmacist told the officer he also received a call from the Fred Meyer store in Olympia saying the prescription was fake.
Apparently, the same man had picked up another prescription from Fred Meyer.
According to the affidavit, the officer spoke with an attorney for Olympia Orthopaedic Associates on Sept. 13, who reportedly advised the officer that Taylor, an advanced registered nurse practitioner (ARNP), “had admitted to sending out fake prescriptions for her boyfriend, and that she had been doing it for approximately one year.”
The Centralia Police Department sent the case to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET).
About 10 months later, according to the affidavit, investigators from the DEA, Washington state Department of Health and Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner informed JNET that the woman who was prescribed the medicine had, in fact, been a patient at Olympia Orthopaedic Associates and received treatment for a hip replacement in 2023.
“In May of 2023, a post op visit chart noted stated (sic), ‘She is no longer requiring oxycodone,’ and ‘Discontinued oxycodone,’” the affidavit stated.
The woman reportedly visited the clinic again in March 2024. No medications were documented.
Investigators allegedly learned that Taylor was the only person who had prescribed oxycodone to the woman between March 21, 2023, and Sept. 11, 2024.
“They found that there were no prescriptions written to (the patient) between April 24, 2023, and Dec. 18, 2023. However, between Dec. 19, 2023, and Sept. 11, 2024, ARNP Taylor issued 136 illegitimate Oxycodone prescriptions to (the patient) through the electronic prescription system, and then deleted the issued prescriptions after sending them to the pharmacy,” the affidavit stated.
Furthermore, Olympia Orthopaedic Associates allegedly confirmed Taylor had issued the prescriptions using her approved credentials and sent them from her IP address.
“When confronted with the information, ARNP Taylor began crying, made statements that
she shouldn't have done it, that her life was over, and that she was going to jail,” the affidavit stated.
Taylor allegedly admitted she knew the woman was not a current patient and said no other employees were involved.
In a written statement to the Washington state Board of Nursing (WABON), Taylor allegedly admitted to prescribing the oxycodone to the patient and deleting the records, but “claimed the prescriptions were legitimately for (the patient’s) pain,” according to the affidavit.
As for the man who picked up the prescriptions? According to the affidavit, Olympia Orthopaedic Associates learned he was the son of the patient — and in a relationship with Taylor.
During the preliminary hearing, Deputy Prosecutor Brandi Archer noted that Taylor had no criminal history and turned herself to the authorities. Because she had used her position of trust for an alleged crime, however, Archer requested a bail of $10,000.
Defense attorney Rachael Tiller argued for either unsecured bail or a personal recognizance release, also noting the self-surrender and lack of criminal history. She added that family members were present in the courtroom.
Judge Paul Strophy indicated he didn’t find Taylor to be a risk to commit new crimes while on release and said he was confident she wouldn’t interfere with the administration of justice.
Strophy granted Taylor a personal recognizance release and set an arraignment for Nov. 26.
Taylor will look to retain an attorney.
