Watertown Surgeon Faces Burglary, Theft Charges as Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Moves Forward

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - Dr. Alan Richard Christensen, a board-certified surgeon residing in Watertown, is facing charges for burglary and theft after allegedly forcing his way into a local medical facility to retrieve a shredding bin and a laptop days after being terminated.

The criminal charges arrive as Christensen and two major healthcare systems actively defend against a medical malpractice lawsuit in civil court.

Termination and the Midnight Break-In

According to a probable cause narrative filed by Watertown Police Officer Martin Geier, Christensen’s employment at Prairie Lakes Healthcare System (PLH) was terminated on June 24, 2026. PLH Administrator Tim Pugsley informed police that the firing occurred “after an incident during which he was the surgeon.” Christensen’s access badge was subsequently deactivated on June 26.

In the early morning hours of June 27, 2026, security footage captured a male—later identified as Christensen—driving a gray Ford F-150 with a grill guard into the hospital’s west-side parking lot at 1:03 AM.

According to the police narrative, Christensen approached a locked employee entrance at the Sanford medical clinic side of the hospital. Hospital administrators noted the door’s mechanism was known to be loose. Without scanning a badge or using a key, Christensen forced the door open.

Security cameras recorded Christensen removing two items from the facility:

·         1:28 AM: He emerged holding a black, laptop-sized object and placed it in the passenger side of his truck. (Hospital administration later formally reported Christensen’s work laptop as stolen).

·         1:37 AM: He exited, pushing a “clearly identifiable Shred-It bin on a yellow dolly” and loaded it into the back of his F-150.

Confession and Recovery of Evidence

On July 2, 2026, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Christensen’s Watertown residence. After waiving his Miranda rights, Christensen admitted to officers that he forced his way through the defective hospital door.

According to the police report, Christensen confessed that he broke in because “he needed some of the documents out of the shred bin by his office.” He told the investigating officer that he took matters into his own hands because he could not get anyone at the hospital to help him retrieve the paperwork.

Christensen fully cooperated with the recovery of the stolen property. He directed police and a DCI Agent to his “shed” located at 16952 460th Ave. The bin was recovered untampered with, and Christensen stated he had not taken any documents out of it.

After being transported to the Codington County Detention Center (CCDC), Christensen permitted officers to return to his home, where they retrieved the work laptop from his wife.

Criminal Charges and Bond Conditions

Christensen was formally cited on July 2, 2026, and court documents filed on July 7 outline two criminal charges:

·         Burglary 3rd Degree: Entering or remaining in an unoccupied building to commit a crime.

·         Theft from a Building: Pertaining to an amount of $400 or less.

Christensen posted a $2,000 cash bond and was released under strict conditions. The court ordered him to remain law-abiding, sign a waiver of extradition, and maintain a 1,000-foot distance from the Prairie Lakes Healthcare System. Furthermore, he is barred from all direct or indirect contact with PLH administrators Tim Pugsley and Erica Bevers.

His next scheduled court appearance for the criminal charges is August 18, 2026, at the Codington County Courthouse.

Ongoing Medical Malpractice Litigation

The termination and subsequent burglary coincide with renewed activity in a 2025 civil lawsuit filed against Christensen, Prairie Lakes Health Care System, and Sanford Health by a former patient, Timothy Finck.

The civil complaint, filed in Minnehaha County, alleges severe medical negligence stemming from a laparoscopic gallbladder removal performed by Christensen on February 23, 2023. According to the lawsuit, Finck was admitted with severe abdominal pain and acute cholecystitis. Following the surgery, Finck’s condition allegedly rapidly deteriorated.

Finck was transferred to Sanford Medical Center on February 25, 2023, where a hepatobiliary surgeon discovered that Finck’s right hepatic artery had been ligated and his common hepatic duct had been clipped and divided from the common bile duct. The plaintiff claims these surgical errors necessitated subsequent kidney dialysis, additional corrective procedures, and rendered Finck unable to return to his previous employment.

Civil Case Avoids Dismissal

The malpractice lawsuit nearly faced dismissal earlier this year. On March 9, 2026, the Minnehaha County Clerk of Courts issued a Notice of Intent to Dismiss Action due to a lack of activity on the record for more than one year.

However, Finck’s legal counsel filed an official objection on March 20, 2026, revealing that the parties had been participating in out-of-court mediation. The mediation was ultimately unsuccessful, prompting the plaintiff to request that the case proceed to formal discovery.

Following the objection, the institutional defendants officially responded to the lawsuit.

• Prairie Lakes Health Care System: In an answer filed on March 16, 2026, the hospital system denied the allegations of negligence. Furthermore, Prairie Lakes denied that Christensen was an employee of the hospital, clarifying instead that he merely “had privileges to practice at Prairie Lakes Hospital”.

• Sanford Health and Dr. Christensen: In a joint response filed on April 8, 2026, both Christensen and Sanford Health denied the allegations of medical malpractice, negligence, and negligent hiring. Christensen admitted he owed a duty of care to the plaintiff under South Dakota law but denied any breach of that duty and demanded a trial by jury.

  
  

As with all open court cases, these are allegations and all parties are innocent until proven guilty.

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