Doctor, 67, gets 4 years prison

A doctor convicted of distributing pre-completed prescriptions for suboxone has surrendered his license to practice medicine.Robert S. Reeves Jr., 67, was sentenced to 47 months in prison — one month short of four years — Thursday. Huron County Common Pleas Judge Jim Conway also ordered the defendant to pay $69,078 in restitution and fined him $5,000; the fine could be waived if Reeves is determined to be indigent.On Oct. 31, Reeves pleaded guilty to 20 felonies. He was convicted of 13 counts of illegal processing of drug documents, six charges of trafficking in drugs in the vicinity of a school and one count of Medicaid fraud. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dismissed 22 charges. Reeves agreed to surrender his medical license and pay the restitution with co-defendant Lisa Garlock, who used to work for Reeves. Garlock and Lisa House have been convicted of similar felonies.After the Oct. 31 plea hearing, Conway released Reeves on a $50,000 bond to the west campus of Eden Springs on terms of house arrest. The defendant was in a wheelchair at the time.State and local law enforcement agencies used a search warrant during a February 2015 raid at Reeve's Water Street office and seized evidence, which included patient charts, financial records and prescription drugs. The executive director for the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy has said it began a joint investigation in January 2015 with the State Medical Board of Ohio and Norwalk Police Department about "Dr. Reeves' questionable prescribing."Huron County Prosecutor James Joel Sitterly has said that between Dec. 20, 2014 and Jan. 22, 2015 and then again from Dec. 16, 2015 through May 7, 2016, Reeves and his co-defendants distributed prescriptions for Schedule II and III drugs — often while Reeves wasn't present. The prosecutor also said no medical examinations were performed and "no vitals" were taken when a confidential informant visited the office twice in May 2016, resulting in the informant receiving two prescriptions totaling 44 8-milligram doses of suboxone.In many cases, Sitterly said the drugs prescribed by Reeves and his co-defendants ended up being sold on the streets. He also noted Reeves "had his license suspended on multiple occasions."After Thursday's sentencing hearing, Reeves was released to the custody of the Huron County Sheriff's Office.ReevesHuron County Prosecutor James Joel Sitterly stands at the podium and shares the allegations against defendant Robert S. Reeves Jr. during Reeves' Oct. 31 plea hearing in common pleas court. On the left is Huron County Sheriff's Deputy Brett Grandy. On Thursday, Reeves was sentenced to 47 months in prison.Defendant Robert S. Reeves Jr. (seated), 67, listens to Huron County Common Pleas Judge Jim Conway during Tuesday's plea hearing. Reeves pleaded guilty to 20 felonies and agreed to voluntarily surrender his medical license. On the left is Huron County Sheriff's Deputy Brett Grandy.