GROSSE POINTE PARK, Mich. – A registered nurse pleaded guilty in connection with tampering with vials of fentanyl while working in the emergency room of a Metro Detroit hospital.
Travis Eskridge, 53, of Grosse Pointe Park, pleaded guilty to tampering with a consumer product, specifically the Schedule II controlled substance fentanyl, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. He faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and up to five years of supervised release.
The 53-year-old allegedly tampered with the fentanyl vials, which he knew were supposed to be administered to patients, while he was working at Ascension St. John Hospital.
Eskridge would allegedly remove the fentanyl from vials, replace it with another liquid, and then return the vials he tampered with to the locked drug storage system.
He also admitted to stealing fentanyl vials over several months.
When the hospital discovered that Eskridge had been tampering with the vials of fentanyl, he was immediately removed from his position in August 2022.
“Licensed medical professionals are supposed to be healers,” said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. “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.”
He pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan K. DeClercq, and his bond was continued. One of his bond conditions includes that he can’t seek employment as a nurse.
His sentencing is set for Sept. 11, 2025.