Ephrata doctor faces drug and assault charges

EPHRATA — Dr. Mohammad Hassan Said, an Ephrata physician for the past 24 years specializing in pain management, has been charged with unlawful delivery of prescription drugs and fourth-degree assault for allegedly inappropriately touching a female patient.

Said, 67, said he is not guilty and the charges are "unbelievable" and "ridiculous." Those charges include delivery of narcotic drugs to 36-year-old Kimberly A. Thompson of Ephrata while she was a patient.

Authorities have targeted him, Said said, because he is an outspoken Palestinian Muslim who has been involved in politics in both the U.S. and the Middle East. He said he is currently running as an Independent for the U.S. Senate.

According to a report from Grant County Sheriff's Office Detective Dave Matney, Thompson claimed to be Said's patient for about two years. After she completed drug and alcohol treatment for addiction in April 2005, Matney stated, Thompson told Said she no longer wanted to be his patient.

But Thompson, an acquaintance of Matney, returned to Said for pain medication. Between June 2005 and December of 2005, Thompson received 41 prescriptions for hydrocodone, 36 for oxycodone and 16 for methadone, the detective's report stated.

Documents filed in Grant County Superior Court by deputy prosecuting attorney Albert Lin claim Said delivered those prescription medications to Thompson for six months, ending in January 2006. Lin is charging Said with three felony counts of delivery of controlled substances and one count of assault with a sexual motivation.

The three drug charges carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison for each count plus a possible $50,000 fine. The assault charge carries a possible sentence of one year plus a possible $5,000 fine.

Lin declined to comment on the specifics of the case.

Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz on Monday scheduled Said's arraignment for June 12.

Said plans to represent himself initially and then retain a public defender.

"They are treating me here as a drug dealer when they are supposed to treat me as a physician who prescribes those medications for pain. I am not 'delivering' the medication as if I was a drug dealer," Said said in his office Tuesday. "The reference to schedule one (drugs), which includes cocaine and heroine, is totally erroneous as those in the medical field are not allowed to prescribe these drugs."

Further, he said hydrocodone is a schedule three drug and for authorities to suggest it is schedule one or two demonstrates their ignorance.

The charge of fourth-degree assault, Said said, has no basis and was simply "inserted" by authorities to embarrass him.

Matney's report describes the alleged assault incident at Said's home. Thompson told Matney that Said proposed marriage when she visited his home and he allegedly grabbed her inappropriately as she tried to hug him before leaving.

"Ms. Thompson wanted to marry me," Said said. "She was pushing me (for marriage) very hard. I was the victim of her constant harassment."

He was in Saudi Arabia when he learned of the charges, he said, and would never have returned to Ephrata if, "I felt, deep in my heart, that I was guilty, even 1 percent."

Said said he was never questioned by law enforcement officials, including Matney, about these charges and they never requested medical records for their investigation.

Said called Thompson a "drug seeker," who befriended him and tried to "seduce" him for money and medication.

"It's stupid as they could not find any grounds for sexual harassment or assault, except this so-called fourth-degree," Said said. "I was told (by an attorney) it is the least sexual offense, as touching somebody or some patient which he does not like."

Said claims Thompson has been his patient for 18 years and he has prescribed her pain medication "off and on" for about 10 years.

Matney's report states that Said was accused by two different former employees, in 2002 and 2004, of inappropriate conduct, including allegedly unwanted sexual contact. A third complainant, a tenant in a rental property owned by Said, told sheriff's deputies in 2005 that he acted inappropriately toward her.

Thompson has a record of domestic problems, according to Grant County court documents, involving both a former husband and boyfriend.

Said's medical practice, located at 524 E. Division, will be closing soon because of the charges, he said.

On May 31, the state Department of Health requested Said provide complete medical records for Thompson and three other patients as part of a preliminary investigation into his care and treatment of patients. The state's investigation began following Thompson's complaint.

"The true victims of these malicious allegations will be my patients as I intend to move to a different county," Said wrote in a letter to the court. "These hundreds of patients depend on me for treatment and have for the last 24 years."

He plans to move because his rights have been violated in Grant County and he expects they will be again.

"What is most frightening is when the legal system is prejudiced," Said wrote in a paid advertisement printed in the Grant County Journal June 1. "How can the state put all its power and resources against me and side with the accuser without ever checking chart notes or questioning me?"

Said is currently free from custody, but has been ordered by Antosz to have no contact with Thompson.