Sarah Reese
The Times, Munster, Ind.
HOBART, Ind. — A former Hobart firefighter was charged recently with stealing IV supplies Aug. 20 from St. Mary Medical Center, police said.
Lloyd Besaw, 35, of Lowell, is accused of using passcodes to enter the hospital’s emergency room and a secure storeroom and leaving minutes later with a small bin of IV supplies.
Besaw was charged Aug. 27 in Hobart City Court with one count of class A misdemeanor theft, records show.
Three St. Mary employees told police they saw Besaw leave the hospital with the supplies, Hobart police Capt. James Gonzales said.
One of the employees told police she knew Besaw was no longer employed by the Hobart Fire Department, so she asked what he was doing at the hospital.
Besaw allegedly told her he was getting supplies to help someone teach a class. When the employee started to question Besaw, he walked away and left the hospital property, police said.
Besaw resigned from the Hobart Fire Department on July 10, police said. Police learned he is employed by the South Haven Fire Department, but was not on duty the day of the alleged theft, Gonzales said. Police also confirmed Besaw is currently employed by InHealth EMS.
A detective spoke with a person Besaw was supposed to be assisting with teaching, Gonzales said. That person told police Besaw wasn’t assisting her, and she didn’t authorize him to enter the hospital or retrieve any supplies.
When the detective talked to Besaw, Besaw said he “didn’t think it was a big deal, because he was using the supplies to assist with teaching a health and science class at an area high school,” police said.
The detective later confirmed Besaw did assist with teaching at a high school, Gonzales said.
“Besaw told the detective that the hospital should make it more clear that EMS and firemen aren’t allowed to just go into the hospital and take supplies whenever they want,” Gonzales said.
St. Mary Medical Center took the necessary precautions to prevent theft, because both of the areas Besaw accessed were passcode protected, he said.
“By his former position as a Hobart fireman, it may have given him access to the medical facility and supplies to perform his duties as a Hobart fireman to the residents of Hobart,” Gonzales said. “But once he separated himself from the Hobart Fire Department, he should have known that he no longer had access to the restricted areas of the medical facility or medical supplies.”
Besaw’s actions should not reflect negatively on those currently serving the Hobart Fire Department, Gonzales said.
Besaw has not yet made an initial appearance before City Judge William Longer, online records showed.
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©2020 The Times (Munster, Ind.)