Bad news is coming in threes for the Gwinnett sheriff’s office: another jail staffer has been arrested, the sheriff spokeswoman acknowledged Thursday.
Theresa Cathrina Smart, the second nurse to be arrested since Oct. 7, was briefly jailed and bonded on two misdemeanor charges of theft and illegal drug distribution on Halloween.
The Stone Mountain woman is accused of stealing eight 100 milligrams tablets of Wellbutrin, an antidepressant, from the jail pharmacy and distributing them to an inmate between Aug. 1 and Sept. 23 with the knowledge that his prescription had been discontinued by the doctor.
Bruce Coley, the inmate who she was accused of providing the prescription drugs, was arrested Oct. 30 on a probation violation and is still in custody. It was unclear whether the probation violation was related to the accusations against Smart, who turns 32 this month.
She made her $11,400 bond and was released the same day she was booked into jail. Attempts to reach her for comment were not immediately successful.
This is the second licensed-practical nurse arrested at the jail in the past month. Cheryl Lynn Bates was arrested on charges of sexual assault for allegedly having sex with an inmate, which under the law is a felony in Georgia because the inmate is a person in custody.
Bates, 44 of Stone Mountain, also was released on bond.
The nurses work for Corizon Correctional Healthcare, which has the contract to provide medical services for the jail.
On Wednesday, a former deputy was arrested and booked into jail for sexual assault regarding her alleged relationship with a prisoner. Lisa Ziglar had been on administrative leave since the sheriff's office began investigating accusations of her misconduct in February.
She was fired and arrested after she was indicted by a grand jury, spokeswoman Deputy Shannon Volkodav said. Ziglar is being held without bond pending a hearing.
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