A Warner Robins doctor charged with drug offenses had improperly provided 10,000 pills to a former patient and woman he’d had a relationship with, a prosecutor said during the doctor’s court hearing Thursday.
Dr. Alan Struth appeared in Houston County court Thursday and was granted a bond by Superior Court Judge G.E. “Bo” Adams, more than two weeks after he was arrested over a drug investigation and allegations of improper prescribing. His attorney, Greg Holt, asked for the bond.
The prosecutor in the case, Ryan English, argued against Struth’s bond. English said Struth and the former patient entered into a relationship and he had given her money and around 10,000 pills, which he called an “extreme” amount. English also mentioned that after a search warrant was executed in May in Struth’s office, he willingly continued to prescribe medication.
The prosecutor acknowledged that Struth doesn’t have a criminal history, which is often weighed by a judge to determine if someone should be released from jail. But English was concerned that Struth could intimidate witnesses while out of jail. He’s still going through the interview process, he told Adams.
Holt defended the bond request, saying Struth is “not going anywhere.”
Although the judge understood English’s concerns, he granted a bond for Struth, saying he was “entitled” to it.
Struth was arrested June 24 after a joint investigation by the Houston County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Task Force. They charged him with three counts of attempting to violate the Controlled Substance Act, a federal law regulating drugs in the U.S.
Their investigation revealed Struth was writing prescriptions for controlled substances to people who were not his patients, according to Lt. Matt Moulton of the Houston County Sheriff’s Office. Although the prescriptions were under different names, he believes one woman was filling all the prescriptions.
He even gave medication to a man who was incarcerated, according to Moulton.
Source Agencies
