Inside MV Doc's 'Pill Mill' Operation

A Mountain View resident now faces manslaughter charges due to the death of a former patient to whom she prescribed large quantities of powerful prescription drugs without performing an exam, according to county prosecutors.

Dr. Jasna Mrdjen, 69, arrested in May for allegedly running a "pill mill" operation out of a small clinic at 14125 Capri Dr. in Los Gatos, appeared in Adult Drug Court in San Jose on Tuesday to make a plea or delay her answer.

Mrdjen allegedly committed another 12 felonies which include a count of conspiracy; nine counts of prescribing a controlled substance to a person without a legitimate medical purpose; and two counts of dispensation or prescription for the benefit of an addict, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

Deputy District Attorney Dana Veazey blames Mrdjen for the patient's death after she allegedly prescribed the young man large quantities of powerful drugs such as benzodiazepines, Oxycodone and Vicodin without performing an exam.

She's also alleges Mrdjen prescribed controlled substances to addicts or habitual users of drugs, not in the course of professional treatment as a medical doctor, but to keep the users "comfortable by maintaining customary use."

Arrested May 11, the investigation into Mrdjen's business allegedly showed Oxycodone as the most commonly prescribed drug and found that some of her patients illegally diverted and resold the highly addictive drug.

Mrdjen's attorney Guyton Jinkerson has been contacted, but has yet to comment.

Arraigned for violations of the California Health and Safety Code on May 14, she received the involuntary manslaughter charge after further investigation allegedly revealed the death of the former patient, according to the complaint.

Veazey also claims that Mrdjen "knowingly" prescribed to addicts, despite several cases in which their family members pleaded with her to stop.

The 1977 graduate of the University of Zagreb Faculty of Medicine in Croatia, who was admitted to practice in California that same year, was apprehended after a lengthy, multi-agency investigation assisted by the Santa Clara County Special Enforcement Team (SCCSET). Several of her patients were also arrested for illegally reselling prescriptions obtained from her, according to Veazey.

In a declaration in support of Mrdjen's original $1 million bail—now readjusted to $160,000—a member of SCCSET, who was the investigating officer in the case, writes that the entire scheme began to crack open on April 16, 2011 when Campbell police officer Wesley Joines arrested a woman at the Campbell Inn, 675 E. Campbell Ave. and found her in possession of eight pieces of aluminum foil with a burnt black residue on them. 

The woman told Joines she used the foil to smoke the Oxycodone pills since she couldn't swallow them. She also had on her person large quantities of Oxycontin, Xanax and Clonazepam. Joines is said to have found prescription medications that came from Mrdjen. The officer also said he found text messages on her phone that led him to believe she was selling her prescription medications. The patient further admitted selling the meds, smoking Oxycodone and being addicted to the medications.

The investigator also writes that on June 14, 2011 he obtained information about another one of Mrdjen's patients, allegedly involved in the sale of Oxycodone. Joines said he performed a so-called CURES check on the patient, which revealed that between May and June of 2011 he had filled prescriptions for 540 Oxycodone and Oxycontin pills from Mrdjen.

In June of 2011, Morgan Hill Police Det. Mario Ramirez sent the patient a text message to try and buy Oxycodone; he allegedly called the officer back to negotiate the purchase of the drug. A search warrant for his cell phone provider and residence in Morgan Hill revealed text messages related to the illegal sale of narcotics, according to the case's lead investigator. Ramirez was arrested following a search of his home, and was found at a Morgan Hill hotel where his backpack had several Methadone, Suboxone and Zanax pills and empty Oxycodone prescription bottles, plastic straws and tin foil to smoke the Oxycodone. Several small Ziploc baggies used to package controlled substances were also found inside the backpack, according to the investigator.

Then, in four different appointments with Mrdjen, a special undercover agent who pretended to be suffering from back pain allegedly received a prescription of 720 30-milligram Oxycodone pills and 150 40-milligram Oxycontin pills after he told her he got the drug from a friend. She commented to the agent how she knew some of her patients had been arrested for selling their prescription medications. The agent said he paid $100 cash for each appointment with Mrdjen.

During his visits, the agent observed a young man whose mother had complained to the California Medical Board about Mrdjen over-prescribing medications to her son. The woman wrote that her son had been seen by another doctor who recognized he was addicted to pain killers, and prescribed a detoxification program. However, after the young man completed his program, his mother said he was once again prescribed large amounts of pain medication by Mrdjen. The patient who prosecutors claim died due to Mrdjen's overprescription of pills was his best friend since childhood, and died of an overdose after spending two months at the Betty Ford clinic, according to the criminal complaint.

The agent also met in Mrdjen's office a man with whom he exchanged numbers to purchase Oxycontin, and then bought the drugs in Campbell on E. Hamilton Avenue, the complaint said. He also bought the drugs from the man in Los Gatos in front of the clinic on Capri Drive, purchasing 30 Oxycontin 40-milligram pills for $28 each, totaling $840. The patient, turned dealer, made the second sale while accompanied by a woman who had two children in the car.

A search warrant of the couple's residence found 1,935 pills of varying prescription medication, cash and text messages on the woman's phone indicating she was also involved in the sales of the prescription medication and a marijuana grow.

To read the entire criminal complain, please see the attached PDF of the court documents related to the case.

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