EX-NURSE PLEADS GUILTY IN DRUG THEFT

A former nurse who tested positive for HIV pleaded guilty Wednesday to
charges that she stole injectable painkillers from a Jourdanton hospital.

Jacqueline Fillingim, who entered the plea Tuesday, faces up to 20 years in
prison on each of seven charges of obtaining drugs by fraud or
misrepresentation from the South Texas Regional Medical Center.

They (prosecutors) want the maximum; we want the minimum," said her lawyer,
David Willborn, who said he will seek probation for his client.

Fillingim pleaded guilty to avoid trial and because she wanted to take
responsibility for her actions, Willborn said.

District Attorney Lynn Ellison favors a prison term for the registered nurse.

"We're going to recommend a substantial amount of penitentiary time," he said.

The hospital in March went public with allegations that a nurse, later
identified as Fillingim, had taken doses of Demerol from a dispensing
machine, injected herself, and then refilled the vials with saline solution.

The hospital sent letters to about 1,100 patients who had been prescribed
the drug during Fillingim's employ, urging them to be tested for HIV, the
virus that causes AIDS.

Fillingim worked at the hospital from June 2001 until January.

The hospital has maintained the chances of contracting HIV were extremely low.

Fillingim moved to San Antonio from Pleasanton after the story became
public. In August, she spoke publicly for the first time about the case,
saying she had been discriminated against because of her HIV status and
that the case against her was being driven by her medical condition,
something Ellison has disputed.

By pleading guilty without the safety net of a plea bargain with
prosecutors, Fillingim is essentially throwing herself at the mercy of the
court and avoiding the cost of trial, St. Mary's law professor Gerald
Reamey said.

Sentencing is set for Dec. 12.