The Florida Department of Law Enforcement have arrested a physician amid murder, manslaughter and racketeering allegations, following a multiyear investigation involving "an illegal drug ring," the department said in an Oct. 4 release.
The investigation began in February 2021 after agents received complaints of large amounts of oxycodone being prescribed by Elaine Sharp, MD, 72, out of her office in Gulf Breeze.
According to the report, several patients overdosed after taking drugs prescribed by her.
Ten other suspects were also charged with selling drugs prescribed by Dr. Sharp, with one still at large. Most suspects were prescribed 120 oxycodone pills a month with no legitimate medical need.
"Shutting down this pill mill unquestionably made our community safer," FDLE Pensacola Special Agent in Charge Chris Williams said in the release. "We know this drug ring, led by Dr. Elaine Sharp, was a major contributor of illegal drugs flowing into our neighborhoods and even attracting drug dealers from throughout the Southeast looking for an easy way to obtain these drugs."