New information on Swedish Medical technician accused of stealing syringes

A former surgery technician who denied federal charges of stealing medicine at a Colorado hospital was court-martialed in 2011 for stealing the same drugs while deployed in Afghanistan.

The Navy says 28-year-old Rocky Allen pleaded guilty to several charges involving the painkiller fentanyl. The Navy released the information in response to a request from The Denver Post (http://goo.gl/91xHPS).

Allen was a surgical tech in the Navy, but was deployed with an Army unit in Afghanistan. The court martial was convened by the Army.

Allen had been working at Swedish Medical Center in the Denver area when he was spotted taking a syringe filled with painkillers from an operating room Jan. 22.

His attorney says Allen suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and he started using drugs after witnessing horrors in Afghanistan.