It’s Official: Stern-Eroshevich-Kapoor Plead “Not Guilty”

The Associated Press in Los Angeles reports that Howard K. Stern and Drs. Khristine Eroshevich and Sandeep Kapoor appeared this morning before Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Kristi Lousteau to enter pleas to felony charges that they conspired to provide prescription drugs to Anna Nicole Smith before her overdose death two years ago.  Stern and the two doctors stand accused of six felony counts, including prescribing, administering, and dispensing a controlled substance to an addict.

The commissioner did not give the defendants the opportunity to proclaim their pleas aloud—preferring rather to elicit the defendants’ pleas by asking if they would be pleading not guilty.  The defendants answered, “Yes.”

Prosecutors allege Stern was the principal enabler in a conspiracy to provide Smith thousands of prescription pills.  City Prosecutor Renee Rose entered a motion that required each defendant to provide a handwriting sample to compare with signatures written on alleged fraudulent prescription slips seized by authorities during a massive two-year investigation. The commissioner granted the motion, without objection, that each defendant is to provide law enforcement handwriting samples.

To curb the predicted media onrush to cover the case, Commissioner Lousteau signed a protective order to ensure that at least some information pertaining to the case remain private.  She ordered that a 1,400-page brief relating to the case not be available to the public because it contains information related to ongoing Smith-related cases in New York and Texas.

After the arraignment, Stern’s defense attorney, Steve Sidow, made another showing before the press.  He said he will not object to having Stern turn in handwriting samples because it will exonerate his client of the charge of writing fraudulent prescriptions.  “He isn’t a doctor,” Sadow said. “He isn’t signing prescriptions. He isn’t issuing prescriptions. Howard K. Stern didn’t commit a criminal act.”

During the Sidow’s previous press conference on March 12, the day Stern and Kapoor were formally charged, the defense attorney stated his belief that the charges against his client were “sensational lies, speculation, rumor and gossip.”  This morning, he reiterated his stance, adding that California Attorney General Jerry Brown’s purpose for bringing charges against Stern stemmed from Brown’s political aspirations. “He wants to be governor again,” Sidow said.

Commissioner Lousteau adjourned the arraignment after scheduling a June 8 court date to determine when a preliminary hearing in the case will begin.

The three defendants were each charged with six felony counts on March 12, after a lengthy investigation carried out by the District Attorney’s Office, the state Attorney General’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the California Medical Board and the state’s Department of Insurance.

If convicted, each faces a maximum of five years and eight months in state prison.