Boyfriend of former ‘pill mill’ owner indicted
By J.J. Kindred | (jj.kindred@thedailytimes.com)
KNOXVILLE — A federal grand jury indicted the boyfriend of the former owner of the Maryville Pain Management Clinic convicted last month on drug and money laundering charges on charges of harboring her while she was a fugitive.
According to the indictment, Brian Paul Hatcher, 32, was also charged with threatening retaliation against a man he accused of leading authorities to his girlfriend, Tamral (Tammy) Guzman, through text and phone messages threatening physical harm.
The indictment said that Hatcher told the man, identified as “GB,” that he would get even with him because he believed he led authorities to her.
Guzman, 42, was apprehended on Oct. 31 in Hollywood, Fla. She had been a fugitive since Oct. 2, fleeing the state just before her conviction on 57 various charges, including conspiracy to distribute Schedule II and Schedule IV substances, possession with intent to distribute Schedule II and IV substances, and 55 different counts of money laundering involving structuring financial transactions. Prosecutors in U.S. District Court proceeded with the trial, despite Guzman’s absence.
According to a CBS affiliate in Miami, Hatcher and Guzman were living in a hotel under assumed names in Florida, and were working in a restaurant when U.S. marshals took them into custody.
Authorities detained Hatcher when they arrested Guzman, but he was released soon after.
Hatcher told a Miami news reporter after Guzman’s arrest that federal prosecutors had planned to make an example out of her, and that she didn’t deserve to spend the rest of her life in prison for her actions.
Guzman will be tried Jan. 7, 2013, for failing to appear at the rest of her trial, and is also scheduled to be sentenced on March 20, 2013, where she faces 20 years in prison on each of the drug charges and 20 years on six of the money laundering charges. She also faces a fine of up to $1 million.
