HEBER CITY, Utah, March 17, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A Heber Valley Hospital employee was jailed Wednesday after allegedly taking and using credit cards from the hospital’s employee locker rooms, and stealing expensive medical equipment.
A probable cause statement filed by an officer of the Wasatch County Sheriff‘s Office says the suspect is Jason Brauner, 45, who serves as Environmental Services manager at the medical facility.
On April 25, Heber City Police received information from an employee of the Heber Valley Medical Center that her financial transaction card and other valuables had been stolen from her locker, says a probable cause statement filed by an officer of the Wasatch County Sheriff Office.
“The woman stated she leaves her purse in a locker inside of a break room for employees. In order to access the room you must use an assigned identification badge which will unlock the door.
“Later that evening, the woman received an alert her credit card had been used at a Target in Sandy, Utah. I drove to the hospital and spoke with security regarding the issue. I discovered a second employee had also had his locker rummaged through and personal items taken. The second employee’s locker was located inside a men’s only locker room. In order to access the room one would need an identification badge. He believed his items were taken on April 27th during his shift.”
The male employee learned on April 28 that his financial card had been used at a Cottonwood Heights Target.
A surveillance recording at that Target showed a man and woman each using one of the stolen cards, and appearing to leave in the same vehicle.
Brauner was on paternity leave at the time of the card thefts.
Medical equipment theft
Well into the investigation, Brauner became a suspect in a third theft case in a different part of the same hospital.
“On May 8th, employees from The Ear, Nose & Throat Center (E.N.T. Center) of Utah reported their office had been burglarized,” says another probable cause statement filed in Brauner’s arrest.
“According to employees, an unknown person had removed medical equipment worth approximately $26,000. There were no signs of forced entry into the center.”
“As the Environmental Services manager, Jason would have keys and badge access to all areas of the hospital, including the E.N.T. Center,” the sheriff’s statement says.
Screen grabs from the Cottonwood Heights Target were shown to hospital officials, who identified the suspect as Brauner. On May 11, WCSO investigators contacted a security department official at the Heber Valley Medical Center.
“He indicated video surveillance showed Jason removing items from the Ear, Nose & Throat Center during the times the thefts had occurred.
“On 05/17/2023, Jason was found removing additional stolen supplies from the hospital. Jason was detained and brought to the Sheriff’s Office for questioning. I explained Miranda and checked for his understanding. Jason admitted that he had items from the center and had possibly stored them inside his residence. Efforts are ongoing to retrieve the items from Jason’s residence.”
In the medical equipment case, Brauner faces a single charge of:
- Theft of items of value greater than $5,000, a second-degree felony
In the financial card thefts, he faces charges of:
- Unlawful acquisition/possession/transfer financial card, a third-degree felony
- Theft, a class B misdemeanor
- Two counts of unlawful use of a financial transfer card, a class B misdemeanor
Brauner was ordered to be held without bail.
