An Oklahoma man arrested for stealing medical waste from a Tulsa hospital could be responsible for vials of blood and other medical materials found dumped into the Arkansas River over the weekend.
Garret Gibson, 27, was arrested Monday after security at St. John Medical Center caught him "stealing syringes and controlled substances" from sharps containers, where biohazard materials are disposed of, according to an arrest report obtained by the Tulsa World.
Pawnee County authorities were alerted to the disposed vials of blood and used syringes after a fishermen saw them floating in the Arkansas River near the town of Ralston, where Gibson is from. It's not immediately clear how much medical waste was found, but after an initial 13-mile search, sheriffs from both Pawnee and Tulsa County departments expanded the search to 21 miles.
"That says they're finding more items as the search keeps expanding," Major Shannon Clark of the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office told the newspaper. The Oklahoma Department of Environment Quality was also brought into the case.
Investigators cannot yet confirm if Gibson is responsible for dumping the waste, but said it's "highly likely" he did so, Pawnee County Sheriff Mike Waters told the Tulsa World. Police were able to trace the labels found on the discarded waste back to St. John's Medical Center.
Hospital security detained Gibson at around 4 a.m. Monday. He was spotted carrying a black trash bin filled with needles and nearly 200 vials containing small traces of drugs, including the chronic pain-killer fentanyl, according to the police report.
Gibson claimed he was a janitor at the hospital, which police said is untrue.
The suspect, who has a history of Oklahoma arrests for DUIs, was charged with larceny of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of a controlled dangerous substance.
