Ohio high court upholds 65-year prison term in thefts from nursing homes, assisted living facilities
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld a 65-year prison term imposed on a central Ohio woman to stealing jewelry and other valuables from several dozen elderly residents at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Former nurse’s aide Susan Gwynne pleaded guilty in 2016 to 46 of 101 charges, including burglary, theft and receiving stolen property. As part of a plea deal, she acknowledged stealing jewelry, watches and other items from residents of senior living facilities.
Gwynne told the judge she began stealing items from patients’ rooms to support her cocaine habit while working as a nurse at an assisted living facility in 2004. She said she was later fired but kept going to facilities in Delaware County and Franklin County in her uniform and stealing from rooms. Investigators found more than 3,000 items at her home.
The high court’s decision Wednesday follows a tangled history of appeals.
The trial court