A 63-year old former emergency room doctor has reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors in a case which left his son dead of a prescription drug overdose. The details of the deal have been sealed, according to the Houston Chronicle, but he is said to face up to 15 years in prison for the charges against him.
The doctor and his 24-year old son shared a house when the death occurred, in December 2010. At the time of this death, the son was already on probation for a drug crime.
The father is alleged to have written numerous unlawful prescriptions to people, which he would then buy back the pills to feed his own addiction. His son obviously had a drug problem as well.
He was an emergency room doctor at Westlake Medical Center until his license was suspended in May 2011 among allegations of prescription violations.
From 2009 to 2011, the doctor is said to have written “tens of thousands” of scripts for drugs, many of them being written to his son’s friends. He would give them money to have the prescriptions filled for things like hydrocodone and carisprodal. Both of these drugs were found in the body of the doctor’s deceased son after his overdose, according to the Travis County medical examiner.
At the writing of this report, the doctor has yet to be arrested and no date has been set for his sentencing. In most cases, where a drug dealer has been charged with the death of a “client”, this level of freedom and nonchalant treatment is relatively unheard of.
Prescription drugs are unique in that the affect people from all walks of life. They are often readily available to people in the beginning stages of addiction as they are often prescribed for injuries. But once the addiction develops and the user can’t easily find a supplier, they can sometimes turn to harder drugs, namely heroin.
When you are a doctor, finding the drugs isn’t so difficult, as illustrated in this case.
Any other drug offender would have likely been arrested long ago, though this doctor never was. One could say it was because he didn’t pose a flight risk, given his reputation and the fact that he is probably well-known.
If you are charged with a drug offense, you may be afforded jail but you will likely face an initial arrest. This case is unusual.
Contact us today if you are facing drug charges. We can offer a free consultation on your case.
