KDSN RADIO News
Former Crawford County paramedic sentenced for tampering with narcotics
53-year-old Teresa Marie Johnson of Manilla was sentenced Tuesday for tampering with vials of a narcotic pain medication. Johnson was sentenced to more than 2 years in federal prison. She received the sentence after pleading guilty in October 2025 to one count of tampering with a consumer product. Federal officials say Johnson was a licensed paramedic who took fentanyl from her previous employer, a county ambulance service. The ambulance service used fentanyl to alleviate the serious pain that patients suffered from certain kinds of emergencies. Fentanyl tampering began in late 2024. On three occasions, she took it for her own use. After investigators analyzed one of the vials from the county ambulance inventory, they discovered it contained only 9.6% of the declared value of fentanyl. They also say evidence was reported of an adhesive like material on the flip-off cap. Vial crimp and top stopper surface, two punctures to the bottom stopper surface, and other breaches to the vial.
In addition to being sentenced to two years in federal prison, Johnson was fined $5,000. She has also been ordered to repay $6,000 in court-appointed attorney fees and costs. Additionally, she has been ordered to serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term. As part of the plea agreement, Johnson agreed to surrender her State of Iowa paramedic license to the United States. Johnson had a criminal history before committing this crime. She was released on a pending bond and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a later date.
