HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — This morning, a Warner Robins doctor facing drug conspiracy charges appeared before a judge for a bond hearing.
Dr. Alan Struth appeared before Judge Bo Adams inside courtroom 1 at the Houston County Courthouse at 9 a.m. It was the first case heard on Thursday.
Originally, a magistrate judge denied his bond and referred him to Houston County Superior Court, according to arrest warrants.
He was arrested on June 24 after authorities accused him of writing dozens of fraudulent prescriptions. Along with Struth, a woman named Karlee Steele was also arrested for the same charges.
Warrants say they distributed thousands of doses of Alprazolam, which is used to treat anxiety and panic disorders, as well as opioids, like Hydrocodone and Oxycodone.
They allegedly committed the crimes from November of 2021 until June 21, 2024. After nearly three weeks of sitting in jail, Struth appeared before Adams to ask for bond.
His lawyer, Greg Holt, said his client's license to practice medicine has been temporarily suspended since his arrest. Holt asked the judge for bond and insisted Struth was not a flight risk nor a risk to the community.
"He's not going anywhere, and I will know where he's at at all times as his lawyer," Holt said.
Prosecutor Ryan English argued that the relationship between Struth and Steele was an exchange of drugs and money.
When 13WMAZ first reported about their arrests, there was no information indicating what the relationship between the pair was. At Thursday's bond hearing, however, prosecutors alleged Struth and Streele were having an affair.
They said Struth gave "an extreme amount of pills" to Steele.
"In the last two years, it's something like 10,000 pills," English said.
An audience member reacted to that and said, "Good God."
Prosecutors say they're looking at other people who may be involved in the investigation too, including Steele's husband, her relatives and acquaintances/friends of the arrested pair.
"He provided her a prescription pad, and he would sign these prescriptions were issued in multiple parties' names," English said. "He did not always issue it in Ms. Steele's name, but he knew that he was issuing prescriptions for people that were never his patients."
Despite the prosecutor's arguments against setting bond, Judge Adams set Struth's bond at $15K after a 15-minute hearing.
Steele's bond hearing was scheduled for Thursday, as well.
However, after confirming with the courthouse and investigators, they told us she was released last week after her lawyers made a deal with the judge who set terms and released her on a $7,500 bond.