Nursing home employee sentenced for credit-card theft

San Diego Union Tribune – San Diego,CA,USA
VISTA – A night-shift worker at an Encinitas nursing home was
sentenced Wednesday to a year in jail and five years probation for stealing
credit cards from …

VISTA – A night-shift worker at an Encinitas nursing home was sentenced Wednesday to a year in jail and five years probation for stealing credit cards from elderly patients.

Patricia Carol Taienao, 43, pleaded guilty two months ago to two counts each of residential burglary and theft from an elder.

“You took significant advantage of a position of trust, and you violated that trust,” Judge Aaron Katz told the defendant.

Taienao, who was arrested last Dec. 28, was captured on video surveillance tapes using the credit cards at department stores and restaurants.

Prosecutor Steven Carver said the woman was “callous” for stealing from elderly victims with whom she had a personal connection.

Attorney Jay Finnecy told the judge that his client, who is married with three children, worked multiple jobs and averaged two hours of sleep per night for about a year.

Something must have happened to Taienao because she had always been law-abiding before the thefts, Finnecy said.

The defendant told the judge she was “truly remorseful,” and her husband offered to pay about $2,400 in restitution.

The woman was also ordered to not work in the health care profession during her probationary term.