Judge dismisses indictment against doctor
JEFFERSON — A judge has dismissed charges against a former Andover doctor. for issuing illegal prescriptions
County common pleas Judge Alfred Mackey on Tuesday threw out the grand jury indictment against Dr. Shannon Swanson, a former physician at St. Joseph’s Andover Medical Center who was charged with 52 counts of illegal prescription issuance and drug trafficking. Swanson was accused of writing prescriptions for acquaintances without diagnosis and who were not active patients.
A dismissal motion filed by Swanson’s attorneys Thursday argues that Swanson received nothing in return for the prescriptions she wrote, which were given to “individuals she came to know during the course of her medical practice, with the intent to help the individual.”
“A material element of the (drug trafficking) offense is that the defendant ‘knowingly sold or offered to sell’ the controlled substance named in the indictment,” the motion states, adding that those who received the prescriptions — who were never interviewed by law enforcement officials — all claimed Swanson was never compensated.
This created a “defect” in the prosecution, through which the indictment could legally be dismissed, the motion states.
During an unscheduled interview in October 2013 with Ohio State Pharmacy Board Agent William Edwards,
Swanson claimed she issued the drugs as a way to help acquaintances who were in between physicians, or were former patients.
“This is a new kind of thing for me. Normally, you’re dealing with people getting something in exchange for giving out the drugs,” Edwards was quoted in the motion. “You weren’t getting anything in exchange.”
Filed under: General Problems
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