AMBULANCE DRIVERS TAKE STEPS TO KEEP DRUGS SECURE

A rash of ambulance break-ins has paramedics keeping a closer watch over
the drugs they carry.

Three ambulances in Wrightsville and Louisville were broken into June 16,
and their drug boxes were stolen.

Courtney Terwilliger, director of the Emanuel and Johnson County Emergency
Medical Service, said his paramedics now keep their drug boxes with them at
all times.

"Obviously we had not been doing what we should have done for security,"
said Terwilliger.

A drug box was taken from a Johnson County ambulance while it was parked at
the EMS office. Two Jefferson County ambulances were broken into that same
night.

Since that time, Terwilliger said he has ordered ambulance drivers to
remove the drug boxes from the ambulance whenever they leave it. State
emergency medical directors sent an e-mail to ambulance services in the
state warning them of the break-ins and the need to take precautions.

"I think you will see pharmaceuticals handled a whole lot different," he said.

Terwilliger said ambulance break-ins were almost unheard of until six
months ago, when drugs disappeared from an Emanuel County ambulance. Chris
Woods, a paramedic for the service, was arrested for that theft and
released on bond.

Johnson County Sheriff Rusty Oxford said the Wrightsville break-in is under
investigation, but he declined to say if there are any suspects.

Ambulance drug boxes contain a variety of pharmaceuticals, but Terwilliger
declined to say which ones may be the likely target of drug abusers.

"The vast majority are of no interest to anyone in a habit," he said.
"There are some controlled substances."