“Paramedic of the Year” busted for stealing COVID-19 vaccines

However dazzling the accolade, laurels are never for resting on.

A Florida man honored just weeks ago as Polk County’s 2020 “Paramedic of the Year” has been busted for allegedly stealing three doses of the Covid-19 vaccine – despite claiming he was set up by a supervisor.

Joshua Colon, a paramedic and training officer for Polk County Fire Rescue, was arrested Monday on charges including forgery, official misconduct, uttering a forged instrument and criminal use of a personal ID, according to a press release from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

The 31-year-old, who resigned Friday, is accused of stealing three doses of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine intended for first responders and forging the necessary screening and consent forms.

He later told investigators he had done so at the direction of his supervisor, Polk County Fire Rescue Capt. Anthony Damiano, who “joked” with him that day to get vaccines for his mother, an arrest affidavit shows.

An investigation into the alleged role of Damiano in the theft is ongoing, the Sheriff’s Office said.

However, the supervising fire captain is due to be arrested within the next day when he returns from a work assignment in California, Sheriff Grady Judd said at a Tuesday news conference, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Ironically, Colon was recognized less than two weeks before his arrest as 2020’s “Paramedic of the Year” – an honor bestowed by a group of local nonprofit civic clubs for outstanding service to the community, including his actions during a serious multi-vehicle accident on a state highway.

Colon’s charges follow an investigation into his alleged conduct on Jan. 6 while administering vaccines to first responders at a fire station in Davenport.

During an interview with deputies Monday, the paramedic admitted using the names of two firefighters and a third person to falsify screening and consent forms, which he then signed, the affidavit states. An investigation determined that the two firefighters had not yet received the vaccine, while the third person didn’t exist.

Colon told detectives Damiano had asked him to procure vaccine doses for Damiano’s mother, Sheriff Judd said Tuesday. Colon initially refused, but the fire captain threatened to tell the paramedic’s supervisors that he was stealing and selling doses while off-duty, an arrest affidavit claims.

The next day, Damiano ordered Colon to take his lunch break, and the paramedic noticed three missing vaccine doses when he returned, authorities said.

“Colon advised he did not question his supervisor in reference to the missing vaccines, however, he immediately became suspicious,” the affidavit continues. “Colon did not report this incident to anyone within Polk County Fire Rescue.”

Colon later admitted forging three consent forms required for the vaccines using fake email addresses and a fictitious name. He has been released from custody after posting bond, sheriff’s officials said.

Damiano, a 17-year department veteran, will likely face theft and official misconduct charges when he returns to Florida, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

When Colon phoned Damiano from his lawyer’s office with deputies secretly monitoring the call, the captain said the missing doses were in a car parked outside a friend’s house in St. Cloud, Sheriff Judd said.

Two doses recovered from the car were no longer usable, while the third wasn’t found.

“The bottom line is, Joshua tried to cover up for the captain,” Judd told reporters Tuesday. “Joshua set up the circumstance for the vaccines to have been stolen. Had Joshua simply gone to his boss right then, he’d have been the hero. Instead he started falsifying paperwork, making up people who didn’t exist to cover it up.”