Crime & Safety
Woman Took Painkiller Scheme from Woodinville to Bellingham, Police Say
After she was convicted of stealing prescriptions to get painkillers at a Woodinville medical clinic, a 33-year-old woman has been charged with similar crimes in Bellingham.
A former receptionist at a Bellingham doctor's office has been charged with stealing prescriptions so she could get painkillers – within months of running the same scheme in Woodinville, the Bellingham Herald is reporting.
Nikki Lee Galleher, 33, of Stanwood is accused of taking up to 300 prescription sheets from Bellingham Retina Specialists soon after her hiring in March, the Herald said.
In November 2011, Galleher reportedly worked as a receptionist at Northwest Hand and Orthopedics in Woodinville. She tried to get two refills of codeine using a fake name - "Brittany" - and a forged prescription from her then-employer's office, according to the Herald. She was denied the pills when the check didn't go through and detectives were tipped off.
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She pleaded guilty in late April to attempting to obtain a controlled substance, a misdemeanor. She received a sentence of community service and one year in jail, with all the time suspended.
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