Nurse accused of stealing from elderly patient at Jackson South, using debit card for fraudulent transactions

By Kathleen Ditton, Marisela Burgos

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Police arrested a nurse accused of stealing from an elderly patient under his care at Jackson South Medical Center.

David Capote appeared before Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy S. Glazer on Wednesday morning. The 37-year-old is facing a number of charges.

“You got charged with grand theft, fraudulent use of credit card, three counts,” said Glazer. “Exploitation of the elderly, fraudulent use of identification.”

Capote had been working as a clinical staff nurse at Jackson South in Southwest Miami-Dade for the past year.

The patient’s daughter, Doris Cartagena, spoke with 7News on Wednesday night.

“I hope that he really thinks about what he has done and how he’s betrayed the public’s trust,” she said.

According to detectives, Capote met Cartagena’s father at the hospital back in May.

Cartagena said her father had to be admitted for at least 10 days because of blood clots in his lungs. During that time, she said, a debit card, a watch and cash went missing.

“I think it’s despicable that he would take advantage of an elderly person and the family, when we as human beings count on them to keep our loved ones safe,” she said.

According to the arrest form, the investigation began when the victim reported several unauthorized charges on his Bank of America debit card.

Detectives reviewed surveillance footage from Walgreens, CVS and Walmart, revealing fraudulent transactions totaling $760.91 made using the victim’s debit card.

The patient’s family said they received alerts about the transactions immediately and reported it to police.

“It’s unfortunate that you can’t feel that you have to even worry about those things when you have a loved one in the hospital. You’re already going through so much,” said Cartagena.

Upon comparing the surveillance footage, investigators identified an unknown subject appearing in the videos as David Capote, a nurse who had provided care to the victim during his hospital stay. Cellphone records further indicated Capote’s presence near the locations of the fraudulent transactions on May 11.

Jackson Health System’s Public Safety Department worked with Miami-Dade Police on this case. They revealed Capote is accused not only of stealing from a patient, but an employee as well.

In a statement issued Wednesday night, a spokesperson for Jackson Health wrote, “David Capote, who has worked as a clinical staff nurse at Jackson South for a year, is now under administrative leave pending termination. Jackson does not condone any type of criminal acts against anyone in our facilities. The safety of our patients, families and employees is our top priority.”

“There were a lot of good nurses that really took care of him, that showed him love and compassion, so we can’t generalize because of one bad apple,” said Cartagena.

Capote was arrested on Tuesday after law enforcement officers attempted to meet with him at his residence. Upon approach, Capote attempted to flee but was apprehended during a traffic stop.

As for Cartagena, she wants to warn others about what can happen anywhere.

“I want to bring awareness to the families that – sometimes we’re so worried about the health issues, but we also need to be aware that they can also fall prey to financial situations,” she said.

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Nurse accused of stealing from elderly patient at Jackson South, using debit card for fraudulent transactions