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Former Belmont County Doctor Rodney Curtis, who was convicted of drug trafficking, will spend 6 months in jail and 6 months at the Eastern Ohio Correction Center.
Curtis has been out on bond during an appeal process, but now he’s in jail.
Following a multiple day jury trial last year, Curtis was convicted of five charges — two counts of drug possession and three counts of drug trafficking.
He was sentenced in March, and he appealed his conviction.
Since then, Curtis has been out on bond, unable to practice medicine after the state of Ohio suspended his license.
The Court of Appeals overruled and the state asked to re-impose his sentence from February 2018.
Belmont County Common Pleas Judge Frank Fregiato told the court the drugs that Curtis was peddling caused significant harm to the community.
“It’s a source of widespread, dreadful affliction and devastation, causing serious suffering to Belmont County families and our children,” Fregiato said.
According to an interview with agents of the Ohio Board of Pharmacy, one of Curtis’ former employees and ex-lover-turned-informant wrote prescriptions on Curtis’ prescription pads.
Ashley Padgett pled guilty to four counts of deception to obtain a dangerous drug. Her husband Ryan Padgett pled guilty to one count of the same charge last year.
They are now in the drug court program.
As for Curtis, he’s going to the Belmont County Jail.