Joel Smithers, a Martinsville-based doctor, was found guilty of multiple drug charges at the conclusion of a three-week jury trial. The jury convicted Smithers, 42, after sixteen hours of deliberation, on one count of maintaining a place for the purpose of illegally distributing controlled substances and 466 counts of illegally prescribing Schedule II controlled substances. Evidence presented at trial showed Smithers opened an office in Martinsville in August 2015 and prescribed controlled substances to every patient in his practice, resulting in over 500,000 Schedule II controlled substances being distributed. The drugs involved included oxymorphone, oxycodone, hydromorphone, and fentanyl. A majority of those receiving prescriptions from Smithers traveled hundreds of miles, one-way, to receive the drugs. Smithers did not accept insurance and took in over $700,000 in cash and credit card payments prior to a search warrant being executed at his office on March 7, 2017.
