Sheriff’s Deputy with Past DUIs Charged with Prescription Fraud
SANTA ANA, Calif. — An Orange County police officer was arrested earlier this month for allegedly lying to doctors in order to obtain controlled narcotics.
Mark Wayne Hewlett, 35, of Yorba Linda, was charged with five felony counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, subterfuge, and / or concealment.
Deputy Hewlett, after his 2009 DUI arrest
If convicted, Hewlett could face over five years of prison.
On five occasions between Sept. 9, 2013 and Nov. 15, 2013, Hewlett is accused of going to four different doctors to obtain a prescription for the scheduled narcotic hydrocodone, more commonly known as Norco or Vicodin. The accusations say Hewlett fraudulently omitted that he was already prescribed those medications.
This is not Hewlett’s first brush with the law. In 2009, Hewlett plead guilty to driving while under the influence, and possession of Xanax, another controlled substance, for the deputy did not have a prescription, after crashing into a the house of Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell. The deputy was sentenced to probation, but was kept employed full time by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
At the time of this writing, TruthVoice attempted to reach a contact at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, but was not able to speak to someone who could confirm whether or not Deputy Hewlett is still currently employed there.
