Jury convicts Arlington doctor who told staffers to prescribe whatever patients wanted
Arlington physician Clinton Battle at times approved prescriptions for controlled substances without conducting exams, a U.S. District Court jury found on Wednesday.
Battle told his office staff to issue prescriptions for whichever controlled substance the patient wanted. In return, he received illicit drugs and other forms of payment.
After five days of trial, a jury convicted Battle, 68, of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and one count of distribution of a controlled substance, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Battle routinely issued prescriptions for controlled substances, including hydrocodone, alprazolam, acetaminophen with codeine, tramadol, and phentermine, outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.
At trial, one of Battle’s former employees testified that she, her husband, and Battle agreed that Battle would provide the employee’s husband with illegal controlled substance prescriptions in exchange for cocaine. Battle would receive money in the form of fees paid by patients in exchange for controlled substance prescriptions.
Battle allowed his nurse practitioner, Donna Green, to use his DEA registration number and medical credentials to issue prescriptions for controlled substances, despite knowing that Green was not legally authorized to issue such prescriptions.
On the morning the trial was set to begin, Green pleaded guilty to acquiring a controlled substance through fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Battle faces up to 15 years in prison. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Oct. 28. A grand jury indicted Battle and two colleagues on June 17, 2020.
Battle’s practice, Arlington Occupational & Medical Clinic, is at 615 East Abram Street in Arlington. He also worked at 817 Baker St. in Fort Worth.
