Police: Man Caught Selling Heroin From Hospital Room

GREENSBURG (KDKA) -- Greensburg police say 37-year-old Jeffery Lakin was getting a lot of visitors at Westmoreland Hospital while recovering. But it turns out they weren't coming to see how he was doing. Police say they were coming to get heroin from him.

"I been a police officer for 28 years and now with heroin, nothing surprises me anymore," said Capt. Robert Stafford with Greensburg police.

Officials say the bizarre situation started when 37-year-old Lakin was admitted for an undisclosed medical condition.

"Security observed a lot of people going out of patients room for a short period of time. People didn't know the patients name just the room they were trying to get to," Cpt. Stafford said.

Hospital staff and security thought something was off and police were called. Just as one of Lakin's "visitors" was leaving, police stopped the car in hospital parking lot.

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Heroin was found in that car. Which lead to the patient's room.

Rushing into Lakin's room, officers found the Greensburg man in the bathroom rumaging through a duffle bag. He would later admit he was trying to flush heroin down the toilet. Investigators say he didn't get it all, several stamp bags were found as well as over $1,000 in cash.

This has happened before. In 2014 a patient was arrested for selling heroin out of her Westmoreland Hospital room.

Excela Health care released a statement saying in part:

"(Staff) are empowered to speak up when they notice suspicious behavior. On Wednesday, caregivers alerted security to possible drug activity in a patient room. Greensburg police were notified and responded immediately."

Lakin remains in the Westmoreland County Jail, facing multiple drug-related charges. He's being held on $11,000 straight cash bond.