SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Shreveport optometrist was sentenced Monday to six months in prison for writing prescriptions for non-patients and non-medical purposes.
Charles D. Shanks, 64, of Shreveport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter on one count of distributing or dispensing a controlled substance. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the September 14, 2015 guilty plea, Shanks wrote dozens of prescriptions for codeine and hydrocodone in 2012 and 2013 from pharmacies and wholesale distributors that were for non-patients and not for valid medical purposes.
The DEA conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney James G. Cowles Jr. prosecuted the case.