Natchez, Miss - Dr. Lawrence Edsel Stewart, 59, of McComb, Mississippi, pled guilty today, before Senior U.S. District Judge David C. Bramlette III, to distributing and dispensing a schedule IV controlled substance outside the scope of professional practice, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Daniel Comeaux with the Drug Enforcement Administration - New Orleans Field Division.

Stewart will be sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge David C. Bramlette III on September 27, 2016 and faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Mississippi Medical Board, and Mississippi Board of Nursing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Chalk is prosecuting the case.