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CRIME Providence medical worker stole from patients' wallets Elderly patients helped snare thief By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Apr. 27, 2016 @ 4:35 pm By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Apr. 27, 2016 @ 4:35 pm » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> A former medical assistant entered guilty pleas in court Wednesday for stealing money from the wallets of elderly patients who had clinic appointments at Providence Medford Medical Center. Laura Lee Delisle, 59, of the 2300 block of Westport Circle in Medford pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment of elderly people and two counts of second-degree theft. She was sentenced to probation and community service, and is banned from any jobs involving caretaking for elderly people or handling of their financial affairs. She also must pay $550 in restitution. Delisle has lost her job and gone through counseling, her defense attorney, Carl Caplan, said in Jackson County Circuit Court. According to an affidavit by Medford police, the thefts came to light largely due to the detective work of an elderly patient, now age 93, and his adult son. The elderly patient had been saying for years that money was stolen from him during doctor appointments. In December 2014, the patient and his son went to Providence Medford Medical Center with $300 in the patient's wallet. Delisle led the patient back to an exam room but told the son he could not accompany his father while his vital signs were being measured, the affidavit said. The patient said he was told to remove his wallet and keys and place them in a dish on the counter in the exam room. He was taken by Delisle to be weighed and provided a urine sample in a bathroom. Afterward, he was brought back to the exam room and his son was allowed to join him there. The son immediately checked the patient's wallet and found $140 missing, the affidavit said. Police interviewed Delisle and she denied taking the money. However, in May 2015, police again responded to the clinic at Providence for a report of $400 stolen from a wallet, the affidavit said. A patient who is now 89 said he was taken to an exam room by Delisle and told to empty the contents of his pockets there. He was weighed and then provided a urine sample in a bathroom. When he returned to the exam room, the patient — who was a retired law enforcement officer from California — immediately had a bad feeling and checked his wallet, finding four $100 bills were missing, the affidavit said. The patient confronted Delisle about the missing money. He also told police he had money stolen from his wallet years ago and she was the suspect at that time. Another medical assistant at the clinic said she had seen Delisle go into the exam room and close the door while the patient was out of the exam room using the bathroom. While police were on the scene interviewing witnesses, another witness checked trash cans and found the four missing $100 bills from the retired law enforcement officer's wallet, the affidavit said. Two other employees at the clinic said they had also seen Delisle enter an exam room while a female patient was away in a bathroom providing a urine sample. When one of the employees opened the exam room door, Delisle was found with the patient's open purse lying at her feet, the affidavit said. Although Delisle entered guilty pleas in court, she tearfully proclaimed her innocence outside the courtroom, saying she had only said she was guilty to avoid a trial, where she could have been found guilty of felony-level first-degree criminal mistreatment. Delisle was allowed to plead guilty to misdemeanor-level criminal mistreatment and misdemeanor theft in the plea deal. Charges that she had stolen money from an elderly female patient's purse were dropped in the plea arrangement. Delisle said she remains unemployed. Staff reporter Vickie Aldous can be reached at 541-776-4486 or [email protected]. Follow her at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous . By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Apr. 27, 2016 @ 4:35 pm » Comment or view comments Terms of Service /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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