The Lehi Police Department arrested a former Heber Valley Hospital manager on Monday for theft and burglary, one month before the man is scheduled to appear in court for similar charges he pleaded guilty to in Fourth District Court over the summer.
Jason Brauner, 47, had not been formally charged in Utah County as of Thursday afternoon. However, a judge ordered Brauner to be held without bail on Tuesday. The affidavit of probable cause alleged Brauner stole approximately $25,000 worth of medical supplies and devices, including skin grafts and medical tools, from Holy Cross Hospital – Mountain Point in Lehi.
Brauner previously worked at the Heber Valley Hospital. In 2023, he was arrested and charged with using his access badge to steal from the hospital and other employees. He was convicted in August.
Now, Lehi police are accusing Brauner of something similar.
In the most recent case, surveillance footage allegedly showed a man later identified as Brauner wearing hospital scrubs and a surgical mask as he entered the hospital at 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 25. The footage shows Brauner leaving the hospital about 10 minutes later, carrying several items under his arms, according to the affidavit.
Lehi police were dispatched to the hospital the same day. Hospital staff initially estimated that around $10,000 worth of equipment was taken from the emergency room, but discovered it was closer to $25,000 after a full inventory, including more than $13,000 in bone grafts.
Last week, officers said they learned that Brauner allegedly entered the hospital during overnight hours “without authorization, accessed restricted areas, and removed hospital property” between Nov. 11 and Nov. 26. Surveillance footage shows Brauner entering through unsecured dock doors and moving through restricted materials and supply areas, including the day of the reported burglary.
A security officer approached Brauner days earlier after observing a suspicious parked car. He briefly displayed a badge, identified himself by a different name and then left in a vehicle, according to the affidavit.
Police said they later learned that multiple secured doors, “including core access and operating room access doors, had been intentionally taped open” allowing unauthorized access into the hospital. However, the affidavit says it’s unclear if Brauner taped the doors or if hospital staff did.
Brauner was identified after information from hospital staff, who recognized him as a former housekeeper. Further investigation showed Brauner had been involved in similar thefts at hospitals, including West Jordan in November, and California in July, where he was arrested for stealing approximately $100,000 worth of medical supplies.
The affidavit said Brauner is currently on probation in California for that offence as well as the one in Heber City.
“Brauner’s prior employment in hospital settings explains his possession of hospital-style scrubs and an ID badge and demonstrates his familiarity with hospital layouts, access points, and supply storage areas,” court documents state. “In prior cases involving Brauner, stolen medical supplies were recovered from both his vehicle and his residence, establishing a pattern of transporting and storing stolen hospital property.”
Police found handwritten medical inventory sheets as well as contact information for medical providers interested in purchasing bone grafts during a subsequent search of Brauner’s Salt Lake City home. Brauner’s wife confirmed to police that he had been selling bone and skin grafts and disposable medical supplies to companies around the country, the affidavit said.
Brauner was the environmental services manager for Heber Valley Hospital when he was arrested on similar charges in May 2023.
A hospital employee notified the Heber City Police Department in April that cash and a credit card had been stolen from her staff locker, according to a police booking affidavit. That night, the employee received a credit card alert notifying her that the card had been used at a store in Sandy.
A second employee told the investigating officer a similar story — that items, including a credit card, had been stolen from his locker in the men’s locker room. Both the break room and the men’s locker room required badge identification to enter.
Security footage from a store in Cottonwood Heights showed a man and a woman each using one of the stolen credit cards. The pair left the store in what appeared to be the same vehicle.
In May, an employee of the hospital’s Ear, Nose & Throat Center found that medical equipment worth approximately $26,000 had been stolen. The employee noticed three scopes were missing from a storage closet, and cupboards and drawers were left open in the neighboring exam room. There were no signs of forced entry.
Investigators presented still frames of the security footage to the Heber Valley Hospital, which identified the man as Brauner. Administrators said Brauner was on paternity leave and had made statements about possibly visiting California.
Heber police also learned that Brauner had keys and badge access to all areas of the hospital through his position. Video surveillance also showed Brauner removing items from the Ear, Nose & Throat Center around the time of the theft.
Brauner later admitted that “he had items from the center and had possibly stored them inside his residence,” according to the affidavit. Brauner was booked into the Wasatch County Jail on theft in a value exceeding $5,000, a second-degree felony.
Brauner was found guilty in Fourth District Court on Aug. 13 on seven charges, including theft in the amount between $1,500 and $4,999 from the Ear, Nose & Throat Center on May 6, 2023.
A restitution hearing in the case was scheduled for Jan. 15, 2026. Wasatch County prosecutors requested that Brauner pay complete restitution to the Ear, Nose & Throat Center for $14,716.50. During the restitution hearing, a judge will determine whether Brauner must pay that amount.