Nurse robs own nursing home at gunpoint

CLEARWATER -- Registered Nurse Michael Villafana took a sick day on Nov. 26. That was also the day police say his employer, Highland Pines Nursing Home, was robbed of narcotics by a masked gunman.

Coincidence? The authorities think not.

Villafana (pictured), 31, was arrested today on a charge of armed robbery by Clearwater police.

According to police, a masked man used an employee access code to get inside the Highland Pines Nursing Home at 111 S Highland Ave. Armed with a 9mm pistol, police say, he robbed the staff of prescription painkillers such as hydrocodone, methadone, morphine and oxycodone. The robber then used the same code to escape the building, police say.

Investigators later determined Villafana is addicted to pain medication and say he was the masked gunman who robbed his own co-workers and employer. Police say they also recovered a gun and drugs from the robbery.

Villafana, of 600 Starkey Road in Largo, is being held in the Pinellas County jail in lieu of $50,000 bail. Court records show he pleaded not guilty to the charge today.

Jamal Thalji, Times staff writer

[Photo: Pinellas County Sheriff's Office]