Amarillo nurse indicted for taking medication from elderly patients at rehab center

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - A Potter County grand jury indicted a nurse for taking medication meant for elderly patients.

Kimberly Ann Echevarria, 40, faces a charge of diversion of a controlled substance, a state jail felony.

The statute is defined as a medical professional who intercepts a controlled substance through their profession or place of employment, rather than medical necessity.

Court documents obtained by NewsChannel10 show that in May 2025, officers with Amarillo Police Department were sent to a skilled nursing and rehab facility* on a report of theft of narcotics by an employee.

The officers learned from two administrators that patients had recently started to complain about not getting their pain medication from a night nurse.

This prompted an internal investigation that ultimately showed that the facility’s pill count was off.

The documents describe how administrators showed officers video footage of the night nurse taking pills from the medication cart and swallowing then.

The night nurse is identified as Echevarria in the complaint. She was employed as an LVN at the facility,

A urine test from Echevarria showed the presence of multiple substances, listed in the documents as:

• THC
• barbituates
• benzodiazepines
• bupremorphine
• methadone
• MDMA
• oxycodone
• pencyclidine
• propaxyphene
• cocaine
• methamphetamine
• amphetamine

Officers then took Echevarria to a room and advised her of the allegations.

Echevarria initially denied taking the pills, even when told it was seen on video. She told the officer she would not admit to it unless she saw the video herself, according to the documents.

In addition to the video footage, the internal investigation showed a number of pills documented as “wasted” or “dropped” by Echevarria.

Administration then advised officers that the pain pills and narcotics are kept in a locked drawer on the cart. Only one key was able to open the drawer and that key would not open other drawers.

In a final interview, Echevarria denied taking anything other than her own prescribed medications.

But on further questioning, she admitted to taking the pills for herself but insisted she took only 4 pills a day, and not the 17 pills a day that the administration accused her of taking.

Officers obtained consent to search her bag and found two “narcotics sheets” for two patients. Administration advised officers she was not allowed to have those items.

A complaint against Echevarria was filed in July 2025.

She was arrested and booked into Potter County Detention Center before she was released on $3,500 bond.

If convicted, Echevarria faces up to two years in a state jail facility.

However, nurses accused of narcotic diversion face both a potential criminal conviction as well as sanctions imposed by the Texas Board of Nursing (TBON). The sanctions may include having their nursing license revoked.

Echevarria’s license shows that the TBON has filed formal charges against the license. However, the charges have not been proven at this time.

Reporter’s note: Due to the nature of the offense and the ongoing criminal prosecution, we are withholding the name of the facility until we can get a statement.