Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 15, 1994 TAG: 9409150080
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Dr. Kenneth LeGree Hallman entered the pleas Tuesday in Roanoke Circuit Court.
He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 20, and Judge Richard Pattisall agreed to wait until then to decide whether Hallman should be convicted of felony charges or misdemeanors, Chief Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Betty Jo Anthony said.
Hallman continues to work at the medical center, defense attorney Onzlee Ware said, and may not lose his medical license if he escapes a felony conviction.
In July, Hallman was the subject of a 16-court indictment alleging that he began illegally prescribing Temazepam, a mild tranquilizer, shortly after taking over as director of the medical center in 1992.
Ware said Hallman became addicted to the sleeping pills as he tried to deal with stress brought on by long hours at work and a busy schedule of volunteer and community work.
"He was just trying to be Superman," Ware said. Hallman since has overcome the addiction through treatment, he said.
Court records show that he prescribed the drugs for no medical reason to a woman who worked as his housekeeper. The woman then returned the drugs to Hallman for his own use.
When Hallman took over the McDowell Avenue medical center, he received a key to the city for his efforts to provide health care to an area identified in studies as medically underserved.
As the only medical center in Northwest Roanoke, the center is more easily accessible to people without transportation to the city's other hospitals and clinics.
Hallman faces up to 10 years in prison, but Ware said he plans to ask Pattisall to reduce the felony charges to misdemeanors.
by CNB