A trial that had been scheduled to begin April 13 in U.S. District Court here for a former Hawkins County physician named last year in a 112-count indictment has been delayed until July 6.

Court records show District Judge Ronnie Greer granted a defense motion to delay the trial of Dr. John Theodore Hancock, 47, who formerly operated Hancock Family Medicine in western Hawkins County's Mooresburg community. Judge Greer took the action during a Friday morning hearing.

The indictment returned against Hancock last year alleged that he prescribed controlled drugs to patients without performing physical examinations, and defrauded Tennessee's TennCare (Medicaid) program.

Specifically, the indictment in the case alleged that "It was further part of the scheme that John Theodore Hancock would, and did, prescribe controlled substances to patients that resulted in the overdose deaths of patients from the use of the prescribed controlled substances."

A response to a defense motion to suppress evidence in the case argues that "at least four" patients died as a result of the issuance of drugs prescribed by Hancock.

Representing Dr. Hancock, Knoxville attorney Richard L. Gaines had, on March 25, filed a motion to continue the trial until a later date.

In that motion, Gaines wrote, in part, "Discovery is voluminous and requires extensive pretrial preparation to properly be ready for trial. Counsel would need more time to review discovery and conduct further investigations in order to render effectiveness of counsel on behalf of John Hancock.

"If this matter were to proceed to trial on April 13, 2009, counsel would be unable to provide the effective representation of counsel to which Mr. Hancock is entitled under the United States Constitution, Sixth Amendment."

The trial, when it opens in July, is expected to last 10 to 15 days, a pretrial order filed by Judge Greer indicates.

Also on Friday, Gaines and Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Smith argued before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis Inman the merits of defense motions, including one to suppress evidence seized in a June 8, 2006, search of Hancock's Mooresburg medical practice.

Also argued during the motions hearing were motions to require the government to give the defense "a bill of particulars" and to sever some of the indictment counts from the main body of the indictment.

Gaines' motion to suppress evidence seized in the 2006 search states that "on June 8, 2006, at 4 p.m., this Court signed a search warrant authorizing law enforcement officers to search the Hancock Family Medical Practice in Mooresburg, Tennessee."

The application for the search warrant was signed by Barry L. Carrier, an agent of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the motion said.

"Although the allegations of facts were extensive, the affidavit itself is striking in one particular matter: all information alleged in this affidavit information dated prior to and no later than Nov. 16, 2005," the motion to suppress says.

"Most of the allegations are of prescriptions given and persons who received these prescriptions in the years of 2002 and 2003. Other information appears to have been gleaned and put together in prior search warrants that were executed on March 15, 2004 and December 2003.

"Ninety-five percent of the facts in this affidavit were obtained prior to March 15, 2004, over two years prior to the issuance of the search warrant in question here.

"The only fact alleged in the affidavit that occurred in the year 2005 is that it is asserted Dr. Hancock failed a drug test on May 13, 2005 as a condition of earlier plea and probation, and that his medical license was suspended for four months as of Dec. 9, 2005."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Smith, in his response, wrote that TBI Special Agent Barry Carrier submitted an affidavit in support of the request for the issuance of the 2006 search warrant.

"The affidavit set forth information from the investigation conducted by Special Agent Carrier and other agents into the prescribing practices of defendant Hancock, to include the prescribing of controlled substances such as methadone and Oxycodone which resulted in the deaths of at least four patients.

"Medical records for those patients showed a lack of any documented medical necessity for the narcotics prescribed."

"An informant related how in 2002 he had visited defendant to obtain prescriptions for controlled substances with no showing that the drugs were medically necessary, simply paying cash for his visits and obtaining the prescriptions.

"An analysis of pharmacy claims paid by TennCare for prescriptions written by defendant for Oxycodone supported the claims of unlawful prescribing practices.

"Phillip Michael, M.D., related to investigators that, after defendant surrendered his DEA registration and lost his ability to prescribe controlled substances in December 2003, defendant enlisted Michael to issue prescriptions at defendant's direction in what Michael admitted was a 'pill mill.'

"In addition to the information concerning defendant's unlawful prescribing practices, the affidavit set out how defendant dealt almost exclusively in cash. Financial documents seized during an earlier state search warrant revealed almost a million dollars in cash received with no evidence of bank deposits of the cash.

"Finally, Special Agent Carrier stated that Tennessee law requires physicians to maintain the medical records for their patients for 10 years and that he had observed records still in the building as recently as February 2006."

The Court found that the affidavit established probable cause that the evidence and contraband to be seized were on the premises to be searched, and issued the [search] warrant.

"The search warrant was executed on June 12, 2006, by agents from TBI, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).

"As set out in the return, the executing agents seized documents and records to include patient files, receipt books, patient visit sheets, prescriptions, documents related to real and personal property, and financial records.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Inman had not filed a report and recommendation concerning the defense motions as of Friday but is expected to do so next week, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Dr. Hancock's arrest was announced last September by U.S. Attorney Russ Dedrick, TBI Special Agent in Charge Bob Schlafly and Christopher R. Pikelis, special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigations unit.

Hancock was released on bond after making an initial appearance on the charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Everingham in Marshall, Texas, according to federal court records.

His arraignment was in U.S. District Court here on Sept. 24, 2008.

If convicted, Hancock faces up to life imprisonment and fines of more than $2.5 million.

The investigation was conducted by special agents of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, according to a news release issued last year.

"The abuse of prescription drugs has become one of the most significant public health problems in Tennessee today," Dedrick said last year.

"Tennessee leads the nation in the number of controlled substance prescriptions per capita and Tennessee's prescription drug overdose rate is 26 percent above the national average.

"Deaths from prescription drug overdoses increased 53 percent between 2002 and 2006 and in 2006, deaths from prescription drug overdoses far exceeded those from illicit drugs."