A nurse who manipulated a drug-dispensing system at Houston Methodist to steal medications for personal use has been sentenced to jail and stripped of her license.
Alexis Joann McNeilly has permanently surrendered her Texas nursing license after being sentenced to 120 days in the Harris County Jail for stealing drugs intended for patients. Following her jail term, she will serve four years of probation, according to District Attorney Kim Ogg.
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McNeilly, 25, was arrested last year for manipulating a medication-dispensing system at the Texas Medical Center to steal drugs for personal use. She would empty vials using a syringe, refill them with saline, and return them to the dispenser. Surveillance footage also captured her injecting fentanyl into her hand.
The investigation revealed that McNeilly had stolen fentanyl and hydromorphone multiple times between April 20 and May 10, 2023. Houston Methodist discovered the crime after a supervisor noticed suspicious vials during a drug audit. Testing confirmed the medication had been replaced with saline, leading to McNeilly’s arrest.
McNeilly admitted to similar behavior at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, where she was previously fired after a drug test returned positive for morphine, hydromorphone, and marijuana.
“Our job is to protect the community, and in this case it means ensuring that this woman never be allowed to be a nurse again,” Ogg said. “Being a nurse, or any health care worker, carries an incredible amount of responsibility, and anyone who does not maintain the highest level of integrity should not be allowed to work in that field.”
Assistant District Attorney Michael Eber, who prosecuted the case, emphasized the importance of ensuring McNeilly never practices nursing again. She pleaded guilty to two counts of diversion of a controlled substance and was taken into custody immediately. Though she could have faced up to two years in state jail, the agreement allows her probation for supervision and rehabilitative treatment.