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Pain doctor's trial postponed

Keith Roysdon
kroysdon@muncie.gannett.com
Physician William Hedrick walks out of his pain clinic at 3301 Fox Ridge Lane after members of the DEA, Attorney General's office and local agencies raided it in October 2014.

MUNCIE, Ind. — The trial date for a doctor whose Muncie pain clinic was raided nearly three years ago has been postponed.

The trial for William Hedrick had been set for May 15 but has been postponed until Aug. 21.

The delay was due to the late introduction of additional evidence in the case, Delaware County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Zach Craig told The Star Press.

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Craig said the new evidence is related to forgery charges that the county will try first.

Hedrick faces three counts of forgery, three counts of prescribing controlled substances with a surrendered DEA registration number, two counts of unlawful dispensing of a controlled substance, Medicaid fraud and four counts of corrupt business influence. State licensing actions against the Fort Wayne-based pain doctor are awaiting resolution of the criminal charges.

Authorities say Hedrick, a Northern Indiana physician, and his Muncie clinic contributed to the deaths of eight people, most from this area, by overprescribing pain medication.

Hedrick's medical office on Fox Ridge Lane, known alternately as the Centers for Pain Relief or Indiana Pain Center, opened in July 2013. And even at that time, The Star Press reported, Hedrick had already been placed on a two-year probation by the Indiana Medical Licensing Board.

Despite Hedrick being on probation, hundreds of patients — sometimes more than 100 in a single day, authorities said — came to the new Muncie clinic.

Hedrick and his staff prescribed pain medication in quantities that prompted at least one Muncie pharmacy to stop filling his prescriptions. The clinic also administered pain relief injections to many patients.

After the clinic was raided by the Muncie Police Department, federal Drug Enforcement Administration, state medical licensing officials and the Delaware County prosecutor's office, Hedrick's patients traveled to other clinics around the state to get pain relief and, authorities said, some of them turned to illegal drugs, including heroin.

Craig said the state planned to call about 10 witnesses, including three former patients and four former employees. It's possible family members of deceased patients will testify in a later case over what the state alleges was reckless prescribing, Craig said.

Contact Keith Roysdon at 765-213-5828 and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.