Woman convicted for forging prescription

By LEDEDRA MARCHE

Senior FN Reporter

lededra@nasguard.com

One desperate woman lea-rned the hard way that forging her doctor's prescription was not the wisest thing to do when she presented it to the pharmacist and instead of getting it filled she got handcuffed.

When the 34-year-old Bass Lane woman appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Helen Jones on the charge of forgery and uttering a forged document, she pleaded guilty and later had the opportunity to explain herself.

The charges, which stem from a Monday, July 6, 2009 incident, are that the beautician, with intent to defraud, forged a certain document — a Grand Bahama Health Services medical prescription — purporting it to be genuine.

It is further alleged that on the same day she uttered a forged document, again under the pretense that it was genuine.

The court learned yesterday that the Bass Lane resident had presented herself to the Hawksbill Clinic, saw the attending doctor and was given a prescription for one drug.

When the beautician presented the prescription to the pharmacist at Sav-Mor Drugs at the RND Plaza, a prescription for another drug, Cytotec, had been added just under the first one.

The pharmacist, however, noticed the difference in the handwriting, telephoned the doctor and asked if he had prescribed the drug Cytotec. The pharmacist learned that he did not and had only written the prescription for one drug.

The Cytotec seeker was then detained until the police arrived and taken into custody.

When she appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Jones in Court 3 yesterday she apologized for her wrongdoings and told the court that she was in pain from a recent surgery she had undergone.

After hearing the explanation, the magistrate told the woman that she was going to give her a conditional discharged but would also be bounding her over to keep the peace for one year.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Jones also ordered that she undergo counselling from the Department of Rehabilitative Services and return to court for review on July 9, 2010.

Upstairs in Court 1, three males — two 21 year olds and a 24 year old — were arraigned before Magistrate Debbye Ferguson on possession of dangerous drugs.

Twenty-one-year-olds Rashad Brown, of Hudson Estate, and Cordero Wilmott, of Churchill Road, and 24-year-old Don Wilmott of Coral Reef Estates were represented by Attorney Carlson Shurland.

It is alleged that on Monday, July 6, 2009, the trio, being concerned together without proper authority were found in possession of a quantity of Indian Hemp.

The men pleaded guilty, were convicted and given a conditional discharge.

Magistrate Ferguson also ordered that they keep the peace for five years, explaining that if they found themselves before the courts and were convicted within that time frame, they would have to serve a 14-month prison sentence, along with the sentence for the offence they were found guilty of.

© 2009 The Freeport News