Charges: ER Patient’s Items Given to Wrong Person

ST. PAUL (AP) — Prosecutors say a man kept a woman's belongings that were accidentally given to him at a St. Paul hospital.

According to the complaint, a woman being treated in the emergency room at Regions Hospital lost about $930 worth of personal belongings and electronics after the hospital's staff apparently gave them to another patient.

The woman lost her purse, phone charger and other items after being treated in November. Her items had been stored by the hospital during her treatment, but were not returned to her when she was discharged.

Fifty-three-year-old John R. Smith is charged with two counts of gross misdemeanor theft for allegedly taking the items. Smith also had been a patient at Regions, and was allegedly given the woman's items upon his discharge.