Pharmacist who stole and sold drugs to be sentenced in September

A former Woodstock pharmacist who pleaded guilty to stealing and selling drugsincluding fentanyl will have to wait to find out his fate.

Yogesh Patel, 47, appeared at a sentencing hearing Monday. At the end of the hearing, the judge reserved a decision on sentencing.

The sentenceis now scheduled to be handed down on Sept. 19 at 2 p.m.

Patel was the manager of the Rexall pharmacy in Woodstock located on Springbank Avenue.

He has pleaded guilty to forging documents and defrauding the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan and possession of fentanyl, morphine and other drugs for the purpose of trafficking.

The Kitchener residenthas spent one year on strict bail conditions and two months in police custody.

Crown asking for stiff sentence

The Crown is seeking a sentence of up to17years in prison if served consecutively -- 15 yearson drug-related charges andtwoyears for charges related to forging documents.

The judge will decide whether consecutive or concurrent.

The defence is asking for a sentence of two to fouryears on drug related charges and a six-month concurrent sentence on forged document charges.

OPP Det. Christopher Auger testified Monday morning that the 3,000 stolen fentanyl patches could have been cut into 12,000 patches for sale. If redistributed - the patches could have reached about 30 per cent of the population of Woodstock.

Lead investigator Sgt. Heidi Becks read a community impact statement from Addiction Services ofThames Valley. The statement said the community has dealt with "an extraordinary rise of problems arising from opioid use," in recent years.

Patel's lawyer Jim Dean said his client "is very ashamed of what he has done."

Dean also said Patel has voluntarily agreed that he would never again apply to be a pharmacist.Two days after he pled guilty, the Ontario College of Pharmacists suspended him for unpaid dues.

Patel remains on conditional bail.

He's set to be sentenced on September 19.