A local nurse, Michelle Jarrell, has been charged with prescribing medication without her employer’s consent.

Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Donnie Saucier said his division was contacted on Dec. 7, by a doctor who suspected one of his nurses was involved in some suspicious activity. Pharmacy records were provided to investigators showing the doctor’s authorization on prescriptions he did approve.

The investigation showed that Jarrell, 41, 11113 Old Kiln Rd., had allegedly been calling in prescriptions using the doctor’s authorization code without his knowledge or consent, Saucier said. Four local pharmacies had been used to fill prescriptions, both for Jarrell and for her friends and family.

Focusing on prescriptions she filled for herself, investigators were able to gather enough evidence to charge Jarrell with three counts of obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation through fraud, Saucier said. She was arrested Tuesday on those charges.

Saucier said that if convicted, Jarrell could face between one to five years for each charge.