A 60-year-old Arkansas doctor, Lonnie Joseph Parker, has been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison for illegally prescribing addictive drugs. In 2022, Parker was convicted by a federal jury on four counts of distributing controlled substances without valid prescriptions. Two counts involved the painkiller oxycodone, and the other two related to codeine cough syrup.
In late August, U.S. District Judge Susan O. Hickey sentenced Parker to 87 months for the first count and 12 months each for the remaining counts, to be served concurrently. Prosecutors argued that Parker, as a licensed physician, abused his position of trust for personal gain by prescribing drugs without legitimate medical purposes.
While the jury did not hold Parker responsible for a patient’s death, the government emphasized his violation of ethical obligations as a doctor. After his prison term, Parker will face three years of federal supervision. He is appealing his conviction, with his first brief due in late October.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anne Gardner and Graham Jones represented the government. Parker was defended by Ronald W. Chapman II.
