Former Nurse Practitioner Sentenced For Unlawfully Distributing and Dispensing Oxycodone

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - On Sept. 28, 2016, Sherry L. Barnett, 47, of Jonesborough, Tenn., was sentenced to serve two years in federal prison for conspiring to unlawfully distribute and dispense oxycodone.

Barnett, who was a licensed nurse practitioner, pleaded guilty in February 2016 to conspiring with Rocky Wayne Hendrix, Robert Randal Stanton II, and others, to unlawfully distribute oxycodone from October 2011 through August 2014. Barnett owned and operated Resolutions HealthCare, PLLC in Johnson City, Tenn., from which she issued unlawful prescriptions to Hendrix, Stanton, and other patients without proper medical examinations and for no legitimate medical purpose.  Hendrix recruited friends, family members, and employees at his business, Rocky’s Pizza, to become new patients of Barnett in order to obtain additional unlawful prescriptions.  According to documents on file with the U.S. District Court, during the course of the conspiracy over 60,000 pills were illegally dispensed and distributed.

All three charged in the indictment have now been sentenced.  In April 2016, Stanton was sentenced to 60 months in prison.  In July 2016, Hendrix was sentenced to 78 months.

The investigation was conducted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gunn represented the United States.

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