'Monster with a stethoscope': Reno pill mill doctor Robert Rand gets 10 years in prison

Final update: Dr. Robert Rand, whose pain pill prescribing practices led to the death of at least one patient and helped fuel a rampant pill mill run out of the Jones West Ford dealership, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on Monday.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Miranda Du said doctors like Rand, who show ignorance and a reckless disregard for life, are fueling addiction and illegal distribution of pain pills.

monst"Doctors like Dr. Rand...are enablers and contribute to the opioid crisis in this community," Du said.

Du's decision overruled an earlier plea agreement reached by Rand's lawyers and federal prosecutors, in which he pleaded guilty to reduced charges of involuntary manslaughter and illegal distribution of a controlled substance. Each side had agreed to recommend Rand spend 6 years and 6 months in prison.

But prosecutor James Keller said Rand failed to take adequate responsibility for his crime, which was a condition of the plea agreement. Judge Du agreed and upped his sentence to 10 years.

Rand must also pay a $25,000 fine and pay $11,000 in restitution to the family of Michael Yenick, his patient who died of an overdose in October 2015.

In tearful testimony, Rand apologized to Yenick's family and others in the court room who had lost loved ones under his care.

"First of all, I am deeply sorry for the terrible suffering I have caused," he said.

"I had no malice," he added, turning to address Yenick's family in the front row. "I had no malice in my heart as I treated any of my patients. I tried to ameliorate one type of pain and I caused another."

In a sentencing hearing that stretched seven hours, medical experts described in detail Rand's practice of prescribing rapidly escalating doses of oxycontin and other narcotics to patients without giving them an adequate medical examination or documenting the need for the exorbitant doses.

One patient in particular, Richard "Richie" West II, illicitly sold the excess pills prescribed to him and other coworkers at the dealership. West, who pleaded guilty to illegal distribution, has yet to be sentenced.

"(West) was getting... a horrendous amount of pills," said Dr. Rick Chavez, a pain management expert from Santa Clara County. "No one could have survived taking that many pills in one day."

Rand and West were arrested in April 2016 during a federal raid of Rand's practice and the car dealership owned by West's father. Seven other people were arrested in connection with the ring.

Prosecutors had evidence that Rand, who ran a family practice, prescribed more pain pills than any other doctor in Northern Nevada. In 2015, he prescribed 401,000 more pills than the second highest prescriber.

Chavez testified doctors are responsible for the ramifications from such overprescribing practices, including addiction and pill distribution.

But while he was in practice, Rand disregarded that responsibility, according to a pharmacist who testified.

Dr. Jason Penrod said he confronted Rand with the aggressive behavior of one of his patients who was attempting to fill multiple narcotic prescriptions from Rand. Penrod said the patient was a law enforcement officer.

"This is a law enforcement officer with a gun, driving at a high rate of speed, running red lights," Penrod said before the judge cut him off to address Rand's specific response to Penrod.

"He said, 'What these patients do when they leave my office is not my problem,'" Penrod said.

During the sentencing hearing, West gave a lengthy statement describing his descent into addiction to opioids following multiple back surgeries. West, dressed in a gray suit, said Rand prescribed him the Oxycodone that made it possible for him to play with his kids and work a full day.

But he acknowledged he began making "bad decisions at home and bad decisions at work."

"But these drugs were making me feel better," West said.

West said he became close friends with Rand and said the pair would have done anything for each other.

"He would give me the bullets to kill myself," West said.

When West attempted to detox from the opioids and transition to a drug that treats both pain and opioid addiction, Rand instead gave him a new cocktail of opioids.

The most heartrending testimony, however, came from the family members of patients who died under Rand's care.

"He was not monitoring his patients. He was not taking care of his patients and because of this, my sister-in-law is dead," said Pamela Peeks, a nurse whose sister-in-law's addiction to pain pills prescribed by Rand culminated in her suicide.

"This needs to stop. He needs to pay for what he has done," she said.

Five relatives of Yenick described in excruciating detail the sorrow that has gripped their close-knit family since the man known as "Bub" died two years ago at the age of 33.

"He was taken away by a man who has a total disregard for human life," said Yenick's sister, Jennifer. "In fact, Mr. Rand, you are a thief. You stole my brother's life."

Edward Yenick, Jr., described Rand as a "monster with a stethoscope."

"He found a dangerous drug and turned it into a revenue stream," Yenick said, accusing Rand of targeting vulnerable patients with good health insurance and getting them addicted to pain medication.

Rand's lawyers called former patients who described Rand as a methodical doctor who performed careful examinations. One man said Rand caught a melanoma missed by his dermatologist. Another said Rand helped discover his bladder cancer through regular urine tests.

But Du said she wasn't persuaded by stories of Rand doing his job correctly.

"That was his job," Du said.

In his statement to the court, Rand said he owed "the people of Reno" an explanation for his prescribing practices.

Rand said he was compelled to treat pain after being forced to argue with his dying mother's doctor who didn't want to prescribe her pain medication.

"If I hadn't been there to fight for her, she would've died in pain," Rand said, saying his mother-in-law also died without anyone to help her with the pain she was experiencing.

"I took a vow to never let my patients suffer," Rand said.

But he acknowledged his failing.

"I went too far," he said. "I was overzealous and misguided."

Keller countered that Rand was running a family medical practice, not a hospice.

"His patients weren't dying," Keller said. "To prescribe this amount of opioids to patients trying to live out a normal life, I can't wrap my head around it."

Original post: A lawyer is fighting to limit prison time for a Reno doctor who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and drug conspiracy charges in a "pill mill" illegal painkiller ring.

Dr. Robert Rand's lawyer said in U.S. District Court on Monday that Rand expected a prison term of less than seven years when he admitted guilt in the opioid overdose death of a Reno man in 2015.

But a federal prosecutor told Judge Miranda Du that Rand should get significantly more time because he has failed to accept full responsibility and show proper remorse.

Prosecutor James Keller says Rand illegally prescribed hundreds of thousands of doses of oxycodone and other opioids.

Defense attorney John Ohlson says Rand won't take the witness stand but plans to make a statement at the close of the hearing, which is expected to last all day.

Reno Gazette-Journal reporter Anjeanette Damon is covering the hearing and will have updates later today.