Posted on 11/13/2007 4:01:34 PM PST by CodeofSilence
Ebenezer – An out-of-practice veterinarian arrested on Oct. 24 on charges of trafficking hydrocodone, which authorities believe he obtained fraudulently, admits that he has struggled with an addiction to codeine but said the charges against him are unwarranted.
“I do have a drug problem,” said Richard Keeton, 60, who was the subject of a joint investigation by local, state and federal agencies that turned up an estimated 400 capsules of hydrocodone and about 800 pills of valium during a search of Keeton’s home on Cook Creek Road.
“I was self-medicating. I have a weakness for codeine. It’s been like a yo-yo: I’d be clean, then I’d fall; I’d be clean, then I’d fall,” he said.
It’s a dependency authorities have been aware of for years, said Sharlene Huffstutler, who lives with Keeton.
She said since 2003, she contacted the sheriff’s office at least three times to help her combat Keeton’s drug abuse, only to be denied any assistance. During the last instance in June 2006, Huffstutler said a paramedic who arrived at the home refused to take several bottles of prescription pills she tried to surrender so Keeton would not have access to them.
“If you’re going to the sheriff’s office, and you’re asking for help and they won’t help you, where do you go?” Huffstutler asked. “I really thought that our sheriff’s department was there to help people, but I’ve been shined on a couple of times by Sheriff [Keith] Lovin.”
Responding to Huffstutler’s claim that his office was uncooperative and ignored her requests for aid, Lovin said he has “no knowledge” of Huffstutler or Keeton calling his office to intervene with Keeton’s penchant for codeine use.
“If someone called up here and said, ‘Hey, listen, I want to get off these drugs,’ then we would help them,” Chief Deputy Tom Frye said.
Keeton is charged with trafficking opium for possessing at least 28 grams of hydrocodone, obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or forgery and maintaining a dwelling that was resorted to by people using a controlled substance. Lovin said additional charges for trafficking valium, the sale and delivery of a Schedule III controlled substance, and the sale and delivery of a Schedule IV controlled substance are still pending.
“First of all, I never sold the first pill to anybody,” Keeton said, adding that any pharmaceuticals in his possession were used either for self-consumption or veterinarian practices.
The five bottles of ketamine that Keeton said authorities seized and fined he and Huffstutler for were purchased prior to an operation Keeton agreed to perform for a neighbor who could not afford to pay for the procedure.
The ketamine was used as sedative on the neighbor’s horse, which Keeton castrated for the modest fee of a sack of potatoes.
Keeton said his plans to open a mobile large animal veterinary service in the county fell through when a prospective partner was unable to relocate here from Washington. Keeton added that at one time he considered working for the sheriff’s office, but after discussing it with Lovin he decided not to take the job.
“I didn’t seek him out as a vet for this office,” Lovin said, adding that Keeton’s potential employment came up during a dispute about the amount of money the Valley River Humane Society should receive from the county for treating animals. “He sought me out. I’ve not heard from Mr. Keeton since that issue was settled about three years ago.”
At that time, Keeton said his relationship with Lovin was “very cordial,” adding, “I even voted for the man.” However, his arrest has altered Keeton’s opinion of Lovin’s character, as he and Huffstutler question the integrity of the sheriff’s office. Keeton confesses to abusing his narcotics license to acquire codeine to feed his habit, but he insists that he never sold or trafficked prescription drugs.
“That’s why we have a court system,” Frye said. “All people are innocent until proven guilty.”
Keeton’s first court appearance is scheduled for today.
I tracked it down, and added the state to the topics.
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