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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Aug. 13 , 2009
TOPEKA DOCTOR INDICTED ON DRUG CHARGES
TOPEKA, KAN. – Physician Ethan E. Bickelhaupt, 57, Topeka, Kan., is charged with five counts of diverting controlled substances and one count of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch said today. The crimes are alleged to have occurred from June 9, 2006, to Sept. 20, 2007, in Topeka.
According to the indictment, in May 2006 Dr. Bickelhaupt became a full time practitioner at the VA Medical Center in Topeka. He taught geriatric and acute psychiatry to psychiatry residents and claimed to have a “tiny private practice” operated out of his home in the 3300 block of SW 15th. There is no examination room at his home.
Bickelhaupt issued prescription orders to individuals who were not bonafide patients. They filled the prescriptions at pharmacies in Topeka and Lawrence and gave the controlled substances to Bickelhaupt for his personal consumption. On occasion, he would compensate them by giving them cash or controlled substances. For example, he prescribed amphetamine and Tylenol #3 to individuals for use during parties at his house. The amphetamine was so they could stay up late and the Tylenol #3 was to ease the discomfort of hangovers and withdrawal from using cocaine.
In May 2006, Bickelhaupt wrote an email to a nurse stating that getting “drunk” and “high” was his “only” interest and he wanted to share the process with friends “socially, at no cost to them.” From June 2006 to September 2007, he illegally issued 120 prescriptions including Oxycodone, Amphetamine, Methadone, Morphine, Hydrocodone, Tylenol #3, Ambien, Xanax, Provigil and Valium.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million on each count of diverting controlled substances, and a maximum penalty of 4 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Christine Kenney and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Hathaway are prosecuting.
OTHER INDICTMENTS
A federal grand jury meeting in Topeka, Kan., also returned the following indictments:
Boisey D. Barefield, II, 23, Topeka, Kan., is charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction, and two counts of possession of marijuana. The crimes are alleged to have occurred July 20 and July 29, 2009, in Shawnee County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each firearms charge and a maximum penalty of 2 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each of the marijuana charges. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot is prosecuting.
Brian Maurice Wright, 27, Topeka, Kan., is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred Nov. 4, 2006, in Shawnee County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot is prosecuting.
William Ryan Owings, 28, Meriden, Kan., is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The crimes are alleged to have occurred April 30, 2009, in Shawnee County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm, a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $1 million on the methamphetamine charge, and a penalty of not less than 5 years and not more than life and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments filed merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
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