ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — A Richmond County doctor was arrested Thursday on drug and sexual battery charges after a three-month investigation.
Police said Wendell Wells, 70, prescribed prescription painkillers without a legitimate medical purpose and without conducting meaningful patient examinations.
The drugs being prescribed were alprazolam and hydrocodone, authorities said.
“He was prescribing narcotics without a legitimate medical purpose and without a meaningful patient examination,” Rockingham Police Chief Billy Kelly said.
Wells was also charged with three individual counts of misdemeanor sexual battery, which stemmed from the improper touching of a patient, police said.
Wells was a doctor at First Choice Medical Chiropractic in Rockingham.
He was given a $25,000 secured bond and released from the Richmond County Jail.
“It's a significant step for us in curbing the pharmaceuticals that would have reached city streets,” Kelly said.
Wells surrendered his North Carolina medical license and his DEA registration, which gave him the authority to write prescriptions.
Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com:
- Woman killed after big rig slams into stalled car on I-85
- Man shot multiple times outside popular South End club, police say
- FBI searches for car after new lead in 16-year-old case of missing girl
- CMPD: Man charged after choking daughter's boyfriend to death
- Video of Ardrey Kell student's talent show water bottle flip goes viral
Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
