Glamorous Florida doctor, 72, grins in her mugshot as her opioid 'pill mill' is exposed

A Florida doc seemed to beam with delight arsenic she was arrested for murdering her patients with immense quantities of opioids.

Dr. Elaine Cecil Sharp, 72, is accused of moving a 'pill mill' from her signifier successful Gulf Breeze which led to the decease of astatine slightest 12 of her patients.

Nearby pharmacies refused to bash concern with her arsenic they began conferring astir the reckless prescriptions which earned her tens of thousands of dollars.

Ten different radical who sold drugs prescribed by Sharp person besides been arrested implicit the endeavor which investigators assertion made the small municipality successful Santa Rosa County a hotspot of the state's amerciable cause trade.

'Shutting down this pill mill unquestionably made our assemblage safer,' said peculiar cause Chris Williams of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

'We cognize this cause ring, led by Dr Elaine Sharp, was a large contributor of amerciable drugs flowing into our neighborhoods and adjacent attracting cause dealers from passim the Southeast looking for an casual mode to get these drugs.'

The University of Texas-Houston aesculapian grad spent astir of her vocation arsenic a respected obstetrician and gynecologist but began prescribing opioids successful 2017, according to investigators.

Pharmacists alerted the DEA successful 2021 aft discovering that 1 of her patients, referred to successful charging documents arsenic 'DD' had died of acute oxycodone toxicity aft being prescribed 120 tablets of oxycodone 30mg.

The Florida Department of Health recovered an exponential summation successful opioid orders from her signifier connected El Rito Drive with much than 3,000 prescriptions for controlled substances issued successful the twelvemonth to August 2022.

A associated FBI-FDLE task unit was assembled and 2 agents tried to articulation her diligent database lone to observe that newcomers had to beryllium recommended by an existing client.

'This antithetic signifier allows Dr Sharp to power her clientele and guarantee that caller patients are acquainted and complicit with her inappropriate prescribing patterns anterior to becoming a patient,' the FDLE reported.

'Therefore, they would beryllium improbable to study Dr Sharp to a regulatory oregon instrumentality enforcement agency.'

When 1 penetrated the signifier helium recovered that Sharp was moving a cash-only concern and 'coached' him connected what to accidental to suffice for opioid prescriptions.

In June past twelvemonth Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo signed an exigency bid restricting her from prescribing oregon ordering controlled substances, and FDLE agents raided her bureau the pursuing period seizing $20,000 successful cash.

'Multiple pharmacies and idiosyncratic pharmacists person besides indicated interest regarding Dr Sharp's controlled substance prescribing practices,' Lapado wrote.

'Since 2019, pharmacists person refused to capable Dr Sharp's prescriptions for controlled substances owed to their concerns that Dr Sharp inappropriately prescribed precocious dosages and unsafe combinations of controlled substances.'

The FDLE recovered that 12 of her patients had died aft narcotic overdoses betwixt 2017 and 2022.

Sharp was arrested connected Thursday and booked into Santa Rosa County connected charges of murder, manslaughter, and racketeering.

She is besides accused of besides accused of unlawfully prescribing for monetary gain, unlawfully prescribing medications that were not medically necessary.

Further charges see conspiracy trafficking of oxycodone 100 grams oregon more, conspiracy trafficking of hydromorphone 28 grams oregon more, conspiracy trafficking of hydrocodone 100 grams oregon more, and wealth laundering.

Ten others person been arrested connected charges including racketeering and conspiracy trafficking, portion one, 53-year-old Mickey Bowman of Pensacola, remains connected the run.

The charges person shocked immoderate erstwhile patients of the glamorous doc who remembered her arsenic 'awesome'.

'She delivered my archetypal 2 babies and my nephew,' wrote Jamie Hayes connected Facebook. 'I perfectly loved her.'

'Good radical sometimes marque atrocious decisions. Love her!' added Renee Blackwell Neely.

'At 1 clip she was a bully doctor,' noted Mary Mattheiss. 'It's a shame she allowed drugs and greed to go portion of her life.'