TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) — A new attorney has been appointed for a southwest Arkansas doctor and his trial is being delayed on charges of overprescribing opiates and other drugs.
Court records first reported by the Texarkana Gazette show the trial of 54-year-old Lonnie Joseph Parker was postponed on Wednesday from Nov. 20 until April 13.
The delay was requested by new defense attorney John Wesley Hall, who was named as Parker's defense attorney on Oct. 24.
Parker has pleaded not guilty to nine counts of prescribing without a legitimate medical purpose. An indictment says he prescribed about 1.2 million dosages of opiates approximately 16 gallons of cough syrup during a two year period.
Parker was convicted in 2000 of possessing child pornography and served more than four years in prison. The state Medical Board reinstated his license in 2015.