US District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Eric Brewer (30) to five years and three months in federal prison for tampering with a consumer product and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. According to court documents, Brewer was a Florida-licensed registered nurse who worked at various hospitals in the Tampa Bay area. Brewer tampered with fentanyl intended for patients by removing a portion of the controlled substance from its container, at times diluting it with another substance, and using the drug for his own personal use. By tampering with the fentanyl, Brewer acted with reckless disregard for the risk that patients would be in danger of death or bodily injury and under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to such risk. On seven occasions between June 2 and September 12, 2023, Brewer repeatedly took needles, syringes, and saline flushes from the supply room, entered the treatment room of another nurse’s patient who was receiving intravenous fentanyl, and stole the patient’s fentanyl by redirecting it into a Styrofoam cup. At other times, Brewer stole fentanyl directly from a secure medication locker or started and stopped the patient’s intravenous (IV) pump of fentanyl to steal it. After stealing the drugs, Brewer injected them into himself in a restroom.