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Former St. George Doctor Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Narcotics Trafficking

Andrea Smardon
/
KUER
Dr. Simmon Lee Wilcox leaves the federal court house in Salt Lake City with his lawyer Brian Frees. (May 9th, 2016)

A former St. George doctor has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison for illegally prescribing pain pills.

Earlier this year, a jury found Dr. Simmon Lee Wilcox guilty of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, and for illegally prescribing 80,000 oxycodone pills to the general public. On Monday, US District Court Judge Ted Stewart sentenced Dr. Wilcox to 100 months in prison, adding that oxycodone is a dangerous drug that has the potential to destroy lives, and he said the court needs to deter this type of conduct.

Assistant US Attorney Vernon Stejskal prosecuted the case. Outside the Courthouse, he called it a just and appropriate sentence.

“A hundred months is a long time for anybody to do and hopefully this sends a message to the other medical community that this kind of conduct will not be tolerated,” Stejskal said.

The jury found Dr. Wilcox to be a part of a conspiracy that included several people, but Judge Stewart said that because he’s in a position of public trust, he is held to a higher standard for sentencing. Wilcox expressed remorse for what occurred, but did not admit fault. He says he was sloppy with his prescription pad, and trusted people he shouldn’t have, including his office staff and his wife.

“Those people who had access to my prescription pad have done harm, but it wasn’t harm that was created by me,” Wilcox said.  He said he will appeal the sentence. He has 14 days to do so, and 90 days before he must report to prison.

Andrea Smardon is new at KUER, but she has worked in public broadcasting for more than a decade. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and news announcer for WGBH radio. While in Boston, she produced stories for Morning Edition, Marketplace Money, and The World. Her print work was published in The Boston Globe and Boston.com. Prior to that, she worked at Seattleââ
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