Attorneys for a Jonesboro psychiatrist accused of overprescribing medication that led to the deaths of patients asked a judge Tuesday to dismiss the case, saying the state had not provided specific evidence of his wrongdoing.
Dr. Narendra Nagareddy is facing one felony drug charge for illegally prescribing pain medication. Authorities suspect Nagareddy prescribed pain medication to 36 patients who died. A Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force arrested Nagareddy in January during a raid of his home and medical office. At that time, federal and local agents seized thousands of records.
“This complaint is woefully deficient. This (state’s) complaint does not allege essential elements of criminal violation,” Nagareddy’s defense attorney Anthony Cochran told Clayton County Superior Court Judge Geronda Carter. “They don’t show a single criminal violation that’s claimed to exist. They don’t give the who, what, when or where. They don’t give none of that. You can’t identify one single criminal violation against Dr. Nagareddy. If the state’s case is as strong as they claim why haven’t they put any of the claims in their case?
Cochran said the state’s case has not identified any patients, prescriptions or other specific information.
Clayton Assistant District Attorney Andrew Ekonomou said the state’s complaint was a racketeering complaint. We seek forfeiture, divestiture and injunction of his property. Who the patients are will be fleshed out in discovery.”
Ekonomou reiterated that the state’s complaint is a “civil complaint not an indictment.”
The state’s case noted that Nagareddy wrote prescriptions between August 2014 and January 2016, Ekonomou said.
“Those dates are sufficent,” Ekonomous said.”We claim as a consequence of his improper and illegal prescriptions (that) Dr. Nagareddy led to the deaths of patients.”
Inaction, missed signals and state law that blocks regulators from activating an early warning system allowed the doctor for years to prescribe what authorities say were alarming amounts of drugs, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation of the case found.
Judge Carter did not rule on the motion Tuesday but could likely do so rule later this week.
About the Author
