Former pharmacist pleads guilty to drug and theft charges

Former pharmacist pleads guilty to drug and theft charges

(Duchesne County Jail)


1 photo
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

DUCHESNE — A man who has surrendered his state license to prescribe medication pleaded guilty Monday to stealing pills from the clinic where he worked as a pharmacist.

Craig Larry Marx entered guilty pleas in 8th District Court to one count of theft and one count of possession or use of a controlled substance, court records show. The charges are both class B misdemeanors.

In exchange for Marx's plea, Duchesne County prosecutors agreed to seek the dismissal of two misdemeanor theft charges and two misdemeanor drug possession charges.

Marx, 36, was interviewed in late August by a Duchesne County sheriff's detective after apparently telling administrators at Uintah Basin Medical Center that he'd pocketed scores of Soma pills — a prescription muscle relaxer — while working at the hospital's clinic in Duchesne.

"Craig stated to me after he waived his Miranda rights that he would take a handful of the pills a day and take them home," detective Monty Nay wrote in a probable cause statement, noting that Marx told him he "had an addiction problem."

"Craig stated that it got bad enough that he estimated he was taking 25 pills a day to ingest," Nay wrote.

A subsequent check of the clinic pharmacy showed that during the year Marx worked there, thousands of Soma pills disappeared from the inventory, according to charging documents.

Court records show it's not the first time Marx has been accused of stealing pills from a pharmacy where he worked.

In March 2012, Salt Lake County prosecutors charged Marx with theft, a third-degree felony, after he admitted to supervisors at University Hospital that he had a drug problem and had been stealing prescription painkillers from the outpatient pharmacy, charging documents state.

In that case, Marx told his bosses that he'd taken as many as 5,000 pills over a period of 18 months, the charges state. Marx accepted a deal in July 2012 from prosecutors that reduced the charge to a class A misdemeanor and held it in abeyance for 18 months.

At the same time, Marx entered into a five-year diversion agreement with the state Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing that allowed him to retain his pharmacy license.

Under the terms of that 15-page agreement, Marx promised to complete substance abuse treatment, submit to drug testing, attend a support group each week and notify his employer that he was the subject of a diversion agreement with state regulators.

Court records show the Salt Lake County case was dismissed in November, after prosecutors told the judge they were satisfied that Marx had complied with the terms of his plea in abeyance.

Marx, who voluntarily surrendered his state license one month after charges were filed in the Duchesne County case, asked to be sentenced immediately after entering his guilty pleas Monday.

Judge Samuel Chiara put Marx on probation for 12 months for the theft conviction and ordered him to pay a $250 fine. The drug possession conviction was held in abeyance for 12 months, as outlined in Marx's plea deal with Duchesne County prosecutors.

Chiara placed Marx on 12 months' probation for that charge as well, ordered him to pay a $500 court fee and required him to complete any treatment recommended after he undergoes a substance abuse assessment.

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Geoff Liesik

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast