3 More Arrested In Connection With Psychiatrist's Drugs-For-Cash Ring

From this CBS 2 report out of LA

hree more arrests were made in connection with an alleged drug-prescription-for-cash ring that authorities say was run by a Murrieta psychiatrist.

James Dylan Hall, 21, Saege Hall, 18, and Janine Hall, 45, all of Temecula, were taken into custody Friday by deputies serving a search warrant in the 29700 block of Calle Pantano, said Murrieta Sgt. Tony Conrad.

Psychiatrist Joel Dreyer, arrested July 24 at his Murrieta home, was charged with five counts of issuing a false prescription. He remains behind bars on $50,000 bail, awaiting a preliminary hearing.

James Hall was booked into the Southwest Detention Center, on suspicion of probation violation and remained jailed in lieu of $25,000, pending arraignment tomorrow.

Saege Michael Hall was booked on suspicion of narcotics possession and was released on $25,000 bail, pending arraignment Sept. 21.

Janine Keating Hall was booked in the county jail on suspicion of drug possession and was released on $5,000 bail, pending arraignment Sept. 21.

Detectives serving the search warrant found 38 grams of marijuana and an undisclosed amount of Vicodin and Xanax tablets.

Investigators determined that Dreyer's prescriptions were being filled at 30 to 40 pharmacies in the Murrieta and Temecula areas, according to a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent who attended a hearing last month.

The DEA and state Medical Board began investigating Dreyer after pharmacists noticed seemingly healthy young people coming in with prescriptions for powerful painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs.

Police said an informant went to Dreyer and paid to get a prescription. That was when Murrieta police got involved, and the agencies began coordinating their efforts.

Typically, the doctor would charge $100 per prescription without any kind of examination, said Murrieta police Lt. Dennis Vronman.

Dreyer, 69, worked with troubled teens in group homes, as well as in private practice.

None of the teens was suspected of involvement in the alleged scheme, Vrooman said.