(MUNCIE) – A state appeals court has rejected an attempt by a doctor who ran several Indiana pain clinics to overturn his convictions of illegally writing drug prescriptions.
The 3-0 court ruling upholds the convictions against 56-year-old William Hedrick, who operated clinics in Muncie and the Fort Wayne area. A Delaware County jury convicted him last year on felony counts of forgery and prescription-related registration offenses. He was sentenced to two years of electronic detention at his Hamilton County home.
The court found it was part of Hedrick’s business practice to write prescriptions using the name and Drug Enforcement Administration registration number of a nurse practitioner who worked for him.
Prosecutors alleged Hedrick and his Muncie clinic contributed to the deaths of eight people by over-prescribing pain medication.
A jury deliberated less than an hour finding Hedrick guilty on three counts each of forgery and prescription-related registration offenses.
Local, state, and federal authorities raided Hedrick’s Muncie pain clinic in October 2014. Prosecutors said the practice saw hundreds of patients some days.
