A jury trial has been rescheduled for a former Hillsboro doctor recently charged with a bevy of drug-related crimes, and the judge said the proceedings may take several days due to the number of the doctor’s patients involved in the case.
As reported by The Times-Gazette, Dr. Timothy S. Manuel, M.D., 59, whose address is listed as St. Louis, was indicted by a Highland County Grand Jury in November on 29 felony counts, including 14 counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs, 14 counts of illegal processing of drug documents and one count of workers’ compensation fraud.
Manuel appeared before Judge Rocky Coss on Wednesday, represented by Cincinnati attorney Edward Perry.
Christopher Kinsler, an attorney with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, is prosecuting the case.
At both attorneys’ request, Coss rescheduled the trial from March 9 to May 7.
A final pretrial is scheduled for April 27.
Coss remarked during proceedings that he wants to “keep this case moving expeditiously,” adding, “I am a taskmaster when it comes to moving things along,” in common pleas court.
Coss also said that during his tenure as county prosecutor here, he prosecuted a criminal case involving a dentist, and proceedings took several days due to the number of patients who were involved.
In the case at hand, Coss said he expects the trial will take multiple days, since 14 of Manuel’s patients may be called to the stand.
In a press release, the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy said it began a joint investigation with the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and the State Medical Board of Ohio in May 2012 in response to concerns that Manuel had been prescribing controlled substances without meeting the minimum standards of patient care.
In April 2014, a search warrant was conducted at the Hillsboro Urgent Care, where Manuel worked at the time.
Patient records were seized, but no arrests were made, according to the press release.
The pharmacy board is responsible for regulating the legal distribution of dangerous drugs in Ohio and ensuring the quality of all drugs administered, prescribed, dispensed by prescription, or sold over the counter.
According to court records, Manuel is being supervised by the Highland County Probation Department.
Reach David Wright at 937-402-2570, or on Twitter @DavidWrighter.
