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HEBER CITY — An employee at Heber Valley Hospital is accused of using his access badge to go into restricted areas and steal items from the hospital and personal items from co-workers.
Jason Brauner, 45, was arrested Wednesday for investigation of three counts of theft and four counts of unlawful possession of a financial card. Brauner was booked into the Wasatch County Jail under three separate case investigations dating back to April 25.
Brauner is the environmental services manager for the hospital, according to police.
On April 25, a woman reported to the Wasatch County Sheriff's Office that her bank card and other items had been stolen from her locker, according to a police booking affidavit.
"She stated while working at the Heber Valley Medical Center from April 20 to April 25, someone had stolen a credit card and cash from her wallet. The woman stated she leaves her purse in a locker inside of a break room for employees. In order to access the room you must use an assigned identification badge which will unlock the door," the affidavit states.
Later that evening, the woman received an alert that her credit card had been used at a store in Sandy.
While a deputy was investigating the theft, "I discovered a second employee had also had his locker rummaged through and personal items taken. The second employee's locker was located inside a men's only locker room. In order to access the room one would need an identification badge. He believed his items were taken on April 27 during his shift," the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
On April 28, the second employee reported that his missing credit card was used at a store in Cottonwood Heights. The deputy went to the store and collected surveillance video of a man and woman using the stolen credit cards, the affidavit states. When hospital administrators were shown images from the video, they identified the man as Brauner.
"They stated Jason is currently on paternity leave and had made statements about possibly visiting California. The missing items came from various parts of the hospital which require badge access," the affidavit states.
On May 8, employees from The Ear Nose and Throat Center of Utah reported their office had been burglarized.
"According to employees, an unknown person had removed medical equipment worth approximately $26,000. There were no signs of forced entry into the center," the affidavit states.
On May 11, hospital security notified police that they had found surveillance video that "showed Jason removing items" from the ENT Center, according to the affidavit.
Wednesday, "Jason was found removing additional stolen supplies from the hospital. Jason was detained and brought to the sheriff's office for questioning," the affidavit states. "Jason admitted that he had items from the center and had possibly stored them inside his residence. Efforts are ongoing to retrieve the items from Jason's residence."
In a brief prepared statement to KSL.com, the hospital said, "Heber Valley Hospital expects the highest ethical standards of our employees. We do not comment on specific employment matters."
