Leslie Ann Pope

Introduction

Leslie Ann Pope, a 54-year-old ICU nurse in Florida, was arrested on October 8, 2026 and charged with three felonies — grand theft of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance — after police said she used a syringe to withdraw fentanyl from the IV infusion of a critically ill patient at Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital in Port St. Lucie, where she worked. Police said Pope was not even assigned to the patient whose fentanyl she is accused of taking, and that she returned to the room the following evening before a family member intervened. She was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail and released two days later after posting a $150,000 bond, and the hospital says she “no longer works with us.”

Background Information

Pope had worked at Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital for around six months at the time of the allegations, according to Brittany McNally, a public information officer with the Port St. Lucie Police Department. Police said the case began when a family member of the patient — described by McNally as “well versed in the medical field” with a history of working in a medical environment — raised questions and notified the hospital’s chain of command; the hospital conducted an internal investigation, contacted the Florida Department of Health, and the department in turn notified the Port St. Lucie Police Department, which started its investigation in early August 2026. Investigators said they examined hospital recordings and medical and administrative records, reviewed medication transactions, interviewed witnesses and coordinated with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Charged; denies taking drugs. Pope faces three felony counts — grand theft of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance — over the alleged June 2026 removals. The charges are accusations, not convictions: she has not been tried, and she denies unlawfully taking drugs from patients or using drugs for personal consumption.

According to the Port St. Lucie Police Department, the case centers on two encounters in the patient’s ICU room on June 24 and 25, 2026. A family member told investigators they saw Pope “use a syringe to withdraw fluid from the patient’s fentanyl infusion, place the syringe in her pocket, and leave the room” on June 24 — a patient she was not assigned to care for. The next evening, police said, Pope returned to the room and approached the IV equipment again; surveillance allegedly showed her “manipulating protective caps on the equipment” before the family member intervened, and investigators were unable to determine whether any additional medication was removed during that second encounter.

Pope told police that an alarm — which she described as an “upstream occlusion” — had required her to intervene with the IV, according to McNally; the patient’s significant other, who had experience working in a medical environment, disputed that account. “That’s not standard procedure, from what I understand at the hospital,” McNally said. “But again, she’s not even assigned that patient. And there was no initial justification for her to even be in that room at the time.” McNally said the patient was on a monitor that had video recordings, “which was a key piece of evidence in this case and completely contradicted what her recollection was.”

Pope was arrested on October 8 with assistance from the Palm Beach Marshals Task Force, booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on an out-of-county warrant, and released on October 10 after posting a $150,000 bond, according to police and jail records reported by Law&Crime. Following her arrest, she denied unlawfully taking any drugs from patients and denied using drugs for personal consumption; police said they have “an overwhelming amount of evidence to prove otherwise.” Investigators said they have not determined what Pope allegedly intended to do with the drugs — “whether it’s personal or, you know, selling it,” McNally said. “We don’t have that information at this point.”

Public Reaction and Consequences

Cleveland Clinic said in a statement: “We take these allegations very seriously. The individual no longer works with us, and we are fully cooperating with law enforcement. Because this is an active investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time.” The hospital did not provide details on when Pope’s employment ended or whether she was fired. The story drew coverage from local and national outlets, with police highlighting the family member’s vigilance; McNally said the relative’s medical background “caused her to raise questions and caused her to notify the chain of command at the hospital.”

Current Status

The charges against Pope are pending. She was released from custody on October 10 after posting bond, and it was not immediately clear when she is scheduled to appear in court. The Port St. Lucie Police Department’s investigation remains ongoing, and Cleveland Clinic has declined further comment, citing the active investigation. Pope’s employment at the hospital has ended, though the timing and circumstances were not disclosed. The allegations are unadjudicated: no trial has occurred and no plea has been reported in the coverage.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Whatever the outcome, the allegations have ended Pope’s time at the hospital, where she had worked about six months before the investigation began, and three felony counts are pending against her. The case, as police tell it, turned on a family member who knew enough to question a nurse’s handling of an IV line, and on video recorded by the monitor attached to a critically ill patient — evidence McNally said “completely contradicted” Pope’s own account. What Pope allegedly intended to do with the fentanyl, and how the alleged diversion surfaced months after the June encounters, remain open questions in an active investigation.

Sources

• NY Post, “Florida ICU nurse accused of stealing fentanyl from critically ill patient’s IV,” Oct 15, 2026 — source
• Law & Crime, “ICU nurse stole fentanyl from critical patent: Police,” Oct 2026 — source
• WPBF 25, “Port St. Lucie nurse accused of stealing fentanyl from ICU patient’s IV bag,” Oct 2026 — source