MONTROE – A Verona nurse endures trial except for a judicial agreement on felony charges claiming to have taken painkillers from patients at her new Grals home during her shift at the 87-bed skilled nursing facility.
Contracted nurse Brian C. John, who worked at home for a day on January 9, 2025, is also charged with misdemeanor for the unnecessary emotionality of another nurse, and in a case in which a female nurse allegedly put her in the bathroom while she was partially dressed.
After discussion on both sides, Greene County Circuit Judge Jane Butcher refused to file an motion to dismiss the charges filed by defense at her attorney Gary Miller at a hearing on Monday, April 28th.
The nurse told authorities, according to criminal charges filed against him. And when he administered two patients nightly painkillers, prosecutors argue that it is likely that Jung had replaced the actual painkillers, a powerful opiate, with something else.
As a result, both patients complained of persistent pain after regular painkillers were given by Jung, the complaint said.
The defendant is faced with nine charges that cause physical harm, including felony theft of mobile property (special circumstances), obtaining controlled substances through fraud, imitation of controlled substances, and intentionally ignoring residents.
Jung is also charged with one count of each of the misdemeanor aggression of privacy and misdemeanor disorderly conduct. And then sexually assaulted four times.
His client on his part, Miller eagerly argued that the prosecutor had no direct evidence that he was under the influence of the substance, and that the instability of the reported behavior by other nurses was due to the fact that Jung had removed his anti-repressant medication. He also said no one saw him taking medication or medication switches.
“No one is watching him take them,” Miller told the court. From the statement, the statements of other nurses in the complaint “cannot draw reasoning.”
However, the prosecutor said it is not necessary to prove it for a cause/movement hearing that is likely to have a lower burden of proof than the ongoing personnel standards for criminal trials.
She argued that the statement from the victim was aware of the pain in the face of taking regular painkillers, and the statement from staff at Newgals' home was sufficient to support the serious charges.
“You don't need to prove he's drunk, you don't need to prove he took it for yourself,” prosecutor Laura Cole said.
That same winter night, the nurse complained that Jung grabbed her ass at the Nursing Bureau and opened the bathroom door while the nurse was inside at some point in her shift.
John denied that it was creepy or illegal through his lawyer. He then denied that these cases, including the touching and the toilet case, were probably not intentional.
However, Butcher opposed the defense's motion to dismiss the charges against Jung, so he is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing at Butcher's court at 11am on May 30th.
If convicted, felony charges against Jung each pose a potential prison sentence of three to six years. According to court records, Jung is in a free trial on a $2,000 signing bond.
