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Exclusive: Hospice Nurse Accused Of Stealing From 79-Year-Old Patient

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A hospice nurse is facing a charge of grand theft after Miami-Dade police say she stole from the home of a 79-year-old patient she was caring for.

Miami-Dade police arrested Regina Cason, 39, on Monday afternoon after she admitted stealing coins, jewelry, a tablet and school supplies from the woman's home, an arrest report says.

The elderly woman's grandson, Jeffrey Fishman, said he and the family feel violated.

"I was in disbelief," Fishman said. "I couldn't believe that this was a professional health care employee."

Fishman said his grandmother wants to spend her remaining time at her Northwest Miami-Dade home and last week her family says they contracted with Seasons Hospice to provide care for her.

The nurse who showed up for the overnight shift was Cason, Fishman said.

At first things went well, he said. But on Monday morning a family member said she found Cason in the elderly woman's closet and later noticed lots of things missing.

The family called the hospice company and called Miami-Dade police. Fishman says an officer pretended to be a family member and spoke to Cason.

"She agreed to bring the stuff back to a cop not knowing it was a cop that she was talking to," he said.

Fishman said Cason brought most of the items back and cops found more of their stuff in her car. Fishman said Cason also stole a bottle of bug spray and a 12-pack of soda.

"She didn't just have the audacity to rob my grandmother in her bedroom," he said. "She came down here in the middle of the night while everybody was sleeping and went through stuff and cherry picked what she wanted to take."

Seasons Hospice said Cason does not work for them and was hired through a staffing agency. But Fishman said Cason's actions led to Seasons Hospice no longer providing care for his grandmother.

"They'd rather just abandon her altogether and say we don't have anybody to cover her shift so we're going to recommend a different company for you," Fishman said.

CBS4 asked Seasons Hospice about that but they were unaware of the current situation regarding the grandmother's care.

Fishman said there is another hospice company providing care for the woman at the moment.

But after the episode with Cason, the family wants others to know they need to be careful about hiring anyone to be in their home and care for an ailing relative.

"She could just come here and take everything we have because she needs it more than us. That's heartbreaking to me. It's crazy," Fishman said.

Cason is locked up in jail on $5,000 bond.

CBS4's Carey Codd looked into Cason's background. He learned that she's been arrested before for petit theft and burglary, but court records show she has never been convicted.

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