(5/20/99)
HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) -- Authorities have accused a former nurse of stealing a Beanie Baby toy from a 12-year-old girl's hospital bed while the girl was recovering from open-heart surgery.
``I just was very floored that it would happen,'' said Michele Kiser, the mother of patient Nicole Kiser. ``I just could not believe that someone would steal from a sick child.''
Police said former Hershey Medical Center nurse Suzanne E. Pinkney, 50, stole the ``Angel Halo'' Beanie Baby from the child Dec. 8, then later struggled with officers who confronted her. She had to be tranquilized after muttering, ``Angel, my angel'' while twitching uncontrollably, hospital authorities said.
She was charged last week with theft by unlawful taking, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and, in Nicole's words, ``being a real bitch.''
Nicole, who nearly died from a closed heart valve and complications, was given the $70 toy as a gift. Police have since returned it to her. She is expected to make a full recovery, but only because of the return of her cherished Beanie.
Hershey Medical Center officials would say only that Ms. Pinkney no longer works there. Ms. Pinkney, who faces a July court hearing, commented, ``I also steal candy from babies.''