A former Lewis County Fire District 5 paramedic and medical services officer accused of forging forms to order between 1,200 and 1,500 vials of narcotics and then stealing more than 1,062 of the vials last year pleaded not guilty Wednesday to felony theft and forgery charges.
Caitlyn Hoye, 29, was charged March 14 in Lewis County Superior Court with one count of first-degree theft and three counts of forgery. She was issued a summons notice on March 22 for a preliminary hearing scheduled for 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 12, which she was present for alongside defense attorney Christopher Coker.
All parties agreed Wednesday to allow Hoye to remain out of custody on her own personal recognizance for the duration of the case.
Trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 26.
The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Hoye after the Napavine Police Department completed an investigation into suspected inventory misuse at Lewis County Fire District 5, which is based out of Napavine.
The misuse was reported on Aug. 15, 2023, at which time District 5 temporarily suspended its advanced life support (ALS) medical delivery service until the issue was resolved.
District 5 resumed its ALS service in November 2023 after investigators confirmed no current District 5 employees were involved in the incidents that led to Hoye’s charges.
Like other emergency medical service providers, District 5 stocks doses of the highly addictive opioids fentanyl, hydromorphone and morphine to be used as painkillers in extreme circumstances.
While District 5 typically uses 100 to 150 vials of narcotics total per year, Hoye allegedly ordered 425 vials of fentanyl, 475 vials of hydromorphone and 275 vials of morphine between January 2023 and Aug. 8, 2023, according to court documents.
She is accused of forging the signature of former District 5 Chief Dan Mahoney on the forms required to order the narcotics.
“When asked why she ordered so many narcotics, (Hoye) stated that the other vials were not good so she had to order more,” according to court documents.
Investigators later determined that only 62 vials of fentanyl, 38 vials of hydromorphone and 26 vials of morphine had been discarded for temperature issues. District 5 had 12 vials of fentanyl, 12 vials of hydromorphone and six vials of morphine in its inventory when investigators searched the station in August 2023, leaving 333 vials of fentanyl, 410 vials of hydromorphone and 219 vials of morphine unaccounted for. The missing narcotics have a total value of $5,385.55, according to court documents.
In addition to the missing inventory, investigators have determined there were 11 instances, all of which occurred while Hoye was the paramedic, where the amount of narcotics administered was listed inconsistently between the patients’ medical records and narcotics usage forms, according to court documents.
Since the investigation into Hoye’s alleged misconduct, District 5 has implemented internal changes, including upgrading its narcotics safe, installing security cameras inside the station and setting up a new inventory system, to prevent any future abuse of the district’s inventory.
