Ralston Man Charged With Stealing Medical Waste From St. John

Investigators believe Garrett Gibson dumped medical waste in the Arkansas River in Pawnee County.The charges are connected to the theft of medical waste from St. John. <br/>

Friday, March 20th 2015, 6:22 pm

By: Tess Maune

Ralston Man Charged With Stealing Medical Waste From St. John

A Ralston man has been charged for stealing used medical supplies from St. John Medical Center in Tulsa.

Investigators believe Garrett Gibson dumped medical waste in the Arkansas River in Pawnee County.

The charges are connected to the theft of medical waste from St. John. He was charged in Tulsa County with two counts of stealing the dirty supplies and possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute.

3/18/2015 Related Story: Man Arrested For Medical Waste Theft Person Of Interest In Arkansas River Dumping

Investigators said Gibson was caught at the hospital on Monday morning with needles and vials that still had small amounts of drugs in them.

A police report said Gibson had used a type of pain medication from one of the vials he had stolen.

A St. John security memo sent out before Gibson was arrested said an unauthorized man was seen on surveillance cameras going room to room in the hospital stealing biohazard boxes.

According to the memo, it happened every few days for about a week.

When Gibson was arrested, he claimed he was a hospital janitor, but St. John says he was not an employee.

Last weekend biohazard boxes, needles, vials of empty medicine and blood was found scattered on banks near the Belford Bridge west of Ralston and underneath the Highway 99 bridge near Cleveland.

3/20/2015 Related Story: Experts: Cleveland Drinking Water Safe From Medical Waste Scare

Investigators say Gibson tossed the drugs off the bridges -- leaving some of the dirty supplies to wash downstream.

A source tells News On 6 that Gibson stole the biohazard boxes in hopes of getting pain medication for himself.

News On 6 has learned charges will be filed against Gibson next week in Pawnee County in connection to dumping the medical waste in the Arkansas River.

Gibson has a long criminal record, but most recently was charged in December 2014 with felony cattle rustling in Osage County. He also confessed to check forgery in May 2014, but he failed to appear for sentencing in January and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

12/19/2014: Related Story: Ralston Man Wanted For Cattle Rustling Found Barricaded In Closet, Rangers Say