MINOT, N.D. (AP) - Two former Minot nurses accused of stealing prescribed drugs for hospice patients have each been sentenced to three years in prison.

The Minot Daily News reports that 40-year-old April Beckler and 47-year-old Kim Kochel were sentenced on Friday. They pleaded guilty in May to endangering a vulnerable adult and criminal conspiracy.

Prosecutors say Kochel and Beckler stole the drugs between December 2012 and September 2014 while working for Trinity Hospice.

Family members of some of the victims testified Friday that the patients suffered excruciating pain because they were not receiving the pain medication that had been prescribed after Kochel or Beckler diluted it or substituted less potent medication.

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Information from: Minot Daily News, http://www.minotdailynews.com

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