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EMT Faces More Charges After Woman's Death In B'Klyn

NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- A New York City emergency medical technician accused of not helping a dying pregnant woman was in more legal trouble Wednesday.

Eutisha Rennix
Eutisha Rennix (credit: CBS 2)

Melisa Jackson was facing larceny charges on Long Island. Police said she tried to steal nearly $50 worth of cosmetics from a Walmart in Westbury.

The disgraced FDNY EMT was already charged with official misconduct, accused of ignoring Eutisha Rennix, 25, a pregnant woman who collapsed at a coffee shop in 2009 while Jackson and her EMT boyfriend were taking a break.

Rennix suffered an asthma attack at an Au Bon Pain in Brooklyn. She and her baby died.

"Melisa Jackson is the only person that morning who bears no responsibility and yet she stands here before you," attorney Ben Heinrich said on October 12, 2010, when Jackson surrendered to face charges. "It's a shame, a shame on the system."

Heinrich said Jackson at least called 911, while others, including Rennix's boyfriend, did nothing.

A lawyer for the Rennix family said that's a poor excuse. "The father of the baby is not a trained a trained emergency medical technician and doesn't have a duty, as she did, which she failed to do, which was to provide aid to someone in need," Sanford Rubenstein said.

"She failed to perform her duty and I think it was a very inhumane act. You know, no feelings for someone who cried for help," the victim's mother said.

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