Tennessee doctor, accused of over-prescribing opioids, tried to flee to Marshall Islands, feds say
A Middle Tennessee doctor was arrested Friday for allegedly over prescribing opioids to patients he knew were abusing them to the point of overdosing.
He is the second medical professional to be prosecuted with opioid-related crimes in Clay County over the last month. More opioid prescriptions are dispensed per capita in the small county than anywhere else in Tennessee.
Gilbert Ghearing, 65, a family medicine and obstetrics doctor, allegedly wrote prescriptions for opioids and benzodiazepines for no justifiable purpose, leading at least two of his patients to overdose, said U.S. Magistrate Judge Alistair Newbern on Friday.
Ghearing was arrested at his practice in Celina Friday morning by federal agents and transported to Nashville to appear in court. His arrest comes just two days after Ghearing, while under investigation for the offenses, bought a one-way ticket to the Marshall islands, scheduled to leave on Sunday.
Read more: https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/health/2019/05/17/doctor-glibert-gearing-ghearing-md-accused-over-prescribing-opioids-planned-flee-tennessee-crackdown/3707488002/