A Florida doctor appeared to smile with joy when she was arrested for murdering her patients with large quantities of opioids.
Dr. Elaine Cecil Sharp, 72, is accused of running a “pill mill” from her practice in Gulf Breeze, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 of her patients.
Nearby pharmacies refused to do business with her when they began inquiring about reckless prescriptions that made her tens of thousands of dollars.
Ten other people who sold drugs prescribed by Sharp were also arrested by the company that investigators say turned the small Santa Rosa County city into a hotspot for illegal drug trafficking in the state.
“Closing this pill mill certainly made our community safer,” said Special Agent Chris Williams of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Dr. Elaine Cecil Sharp appeared calm as she smiled widely for her police booking photo after being arrested on charges of murder, manslaughter and racketeering on Thursday.
FDLE agents seized $20,000 in cash when they raided his office in July of last year.
“We know that this drug ring, led by Dr. Elaine Sharp, was a major contributor to the flow of illegal drugs into our neighborhoods and even attracted drug dealers from across the Southeast who were looking for an easy way to obtain these drugs.”
The University of Texas-Houston medical graduate spent most of her career as a respected obstetrician and gynecologist, but began prescribing opioids in 2017, according to investigators.
Pharmacists alerted the DEA in 2021 after discovering that one of their patients, referred to in charging documents as ‘DD,’ had died from acute oxycodone toxicity after being prescribed 120 30-pack oxycodone tablets. mg.
The Florida Department of Health found an exponential increase in opioid orders from its practice on El Rito Drive with more than 3,000 prescriptions for controlled substances issued in the year through August 2022.
A joint FBI-FDLE task force was formed and two agents attempted to join their patient list only to discover that newcomers had to be recommended by an existing client.
“This unusual practice allows Dr. Sharp to monitor her clientele and ensure that new patients are familiar with and complicit in her inappropriate prescribing patterns before becoming patients,” the FDLE reported.
“Therefore, it would be unlikely that they would report Dr. Sharp to a regulatory or law enforcement agency.”
The glamorous doctor spent most of her career as a respected obstetrician and gynecologist, but began prescribing opioids in 2017, according to investigators.
Investigators said she turned her harmless practice into a hub for illegal drug trafficking in Florida.
When one entered the practice, he discovered Sharp had a cash-only business and “coached” him on what to say to qualify for opioid prescriptions.
In June of last year, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo signed an emergency order preventing him from prescribing or ordering controlled substances, and FDLE agents raided his office the following month and seized $20,000 in cash.
“Multiple pharmacies and individual pharmacists have also raised concerns about Dr. Sharp’s controlled substance prescribing practices,” Lapado wrote.
“Since 2019, pharmacists have refused to fill Dr. Sharp’s prescriptions for controlled substances due to concerns that Dr. Sharp may have inappropriately prescribed high doses and dangerous combinations of controlled substances.”
The FDLE found that 12 of its patients had died after narcotic overdoses between 2017 and 2022.
Sharp was arrested Thursday and booked into Santa Rosa County on charges of murder, manslaughter and racketeering.
She is also accused of illegally prescribing for monetary gain, illegally prescribing medications that were not medically necessary.
Other charges include conspiracy trafficking in oxycodone of 100 grams or more, conspiracy trafficking in hydromorphone of 28 grams or more, conspiracy trafficking in hydrocodone of 100 grams or more, and money laundering.
The arrest surprised the 72-year-old doctor’s former patients in Gulf Breeze.
Ten other people have been arrested on charges including racketeering and trafficking conspiracy.
Ten others have been arrested on charges including racketeering and trafficking conspiracy, while one, 53-year-old Mickey Bowman of Pensacola, remains at large.
The charges have shocked some former patients of the glamorous doctor who remembered her as “amazing.”
“She gave birth to my first two babies and my nephew,” Jamie Hayes wrote on Facebook. “I absolutely loved her.”
‘Good people sometimes make bad decisions. Love her!’ added Renée Blackwell Neely.
“There was a time when she was a good doctor,” Mary Mattheiss noted. “It’s a shame he allowed drugs and greed to become a part of his life.”