March 13, 2020 - 6:22 AM
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska prosecutors have indicted a nurse practitioner on 18 felony counts, including manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, stemming from a woman's overdose death.
Kris Kile, 52, faces more than a dozen drug distribution counts alleging she used her position to fraudulently distribute prescription opioids, The Anchorage Daily News reported Wednesday.
Courtney Jones, 22, died of an opioid overdose in March 2015. A charging document against Kile said she prescribed drugs to Jones including diazepam, oxycodone, tramadol, hydrocodone and Ambien.
Prosecutors contend Kile also prescribed opioids to another woman, who in turn sold them to Jones.
Kile’s Anchorage practice, Surgical Specialists of Alaska, offered orthopedic, sports medicine and primary care.
“Kile routinely prescribed vast amounts of controlled substances to her friends and acquaintances without associated office visits, chart notes, rationalization or explanation, and often via text messages and via the internet,” a court document said.
Authorities arrested Kile Monday at a different medical practice, where prosecutors allege she was working despite her nursing license having been suspended.
The Alaska Board of Nursing suspended Kile’s license last year, public records show.
A Board of Nursing review found “no reason or justification for many of the prescriptions” of controlled substances Kile gave to Jones, court documents said.
Kile is the third Southcentral Alaska medical professional to face federal or state criminal charges in connection to opioid prescriptions over the last six months.
Kile pleaded not guilty to the charges in Anchorage Superior Court Wednesday.
“Ms. Kile is innocent until a jury says otherwise and she denies these charges,” said Steve Wells, her attorney.
News from © The Associated Press, 2020