A West Palm Beach pediatrician who authorities say prescribed painkillers to junkies now faces three counts of first-degree murder.
Dr. Sergio Rodriguez, who was arrested in 2008 on drug trafficking charges after an intensive Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigation, was indicted on murder charges Thursday.
A Palm Beach County grand jury concluded he was responsible for the death of three men who got drugs from him. They also handed up indictments on additional drug trafficking and drug-selling charges.
"Numerous" people statewide died from overdoses on oxycodone tablets provided by Rodriguez, investigators said.
The indictment said the following people overdosed on drugs provided by Rodriguez between February and April 2008: Robert Bowes of Port St. Lucie; Robert Peterkin of Palm Bay; and Robert Miller of Palm City.
Rodriguez also prescribed the men methadone and alprazolam anti-anxiety medicine, the indictment said.
The indictment came after a joint investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and the state attorney's office, according to an FDLE statement.
Although Rodriguez now faces murder charges, and has faced drug trafficking charges for almost two years, he still holds an active medical license from the state Department of Health, records show.
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