Local organ harvesting case will proceed to jury trialPosted: March 19, 2008 06:47 PM
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Reported by: Stacy Daniel
SAN LUIS OBISPO
The transplant surgeon facing criminal charges for speeding up the death of a disabled patient learns his case will proceed to a jury trail.
Here are the Facts First:
* The patient, 25-year-old Ruben Navarro was found unconscious on January 29, 2006. He was taken to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.
* Doctors said Navarro suffered permanent brain damage and had no chance of recovering, but he was not declared brain dead.
* Because of that Navarro's organs were still eligible for transplant if harvested within one hour of being taken off life support.
* Dr. Hootan Roozrokh is accused of prescribing excessive drugs to speed up Navarro's death in order to retrieve the organs more quickly.
Court wrapped up Wednesday just before 5:00 p.m. with the judge dismissing two of the three felony charges against Dr. Hootan Roozrokh.
The doctor still faces count one, which is the charge of abusing a dependent adult.
Judge Martin Tangeman made it clear to the court his decision to move forward with the jury trial is in no way a reflection of Dr. Roozrokh's guilt or innocence.
"I think when the full truth comes out, that people are going to admire Dr. Roozrokh and not revile him," said Dr. Roozrokh's attorney, M. Jerald Schwartzbach.
Deputy District Attorney Karen Gray declined to comment on the judge's decision. She did say in her closing arguments that Ruben Navarro was not ready to die, and that Dr. Roozrokh sped up his death in order to harvest his organs.
Navarro did not die immediately. It took about eight hours, so his organs were not able to be used for transplant.
The next court date is set for April 2 at 11:00 a.m.
http://www.ksby.com/global/story.asp?s=8043367&ClientType=Printable
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