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| Senior Prison Escapee Allegedly Pretended To Be Doctor |
| By KNBC |
| Published: 03/18/2003 |
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A 69-year-old prison escapee was indicted February 25 for allegedly pretending to be a doctor and working at a California medical office. Gerald C. Barnes, who reportedly has a history of impersonating a physician, is named in a 16-count indictment returned by a Los Angeles federal grand jury. Prosecutors say he escaped from prison on Aug. 21, 2000, and was hired that September at the Family Medical Center, in North Hollywood. They allege that he worked there briefly until he was tracked down and arrested. Barnes allegedly obtained the job after using false identification and the credentials of a real doctor named Gerald Barnes, who until recently practiced in Northern California, Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Saunders said. The defendant, who escaped while being transferred from a federal prison camp in Taft to another facility in Illinois, admitted in a 1996 guilty plea that he previously impersonated the same doctor to work at numerous clinics in the Los Angeles area, Saunders said. At the time of the escape, Barnes was serving sentence of more than 12 years, according to the government. But while working at Family Medical Center, Barnes allegedly administered exams, dispensed medications and provided other services. To gain employment at Family Medical Center, he allegedly told employers he had graduated from the University of Wisconsin and had a license to practice medicine in three states. He also is accused of telling his employers that he had specialized training and had been certified by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to dispense controlled substances. He allegedly stated that he had been employed from 1995 to 2000 as the medical director of a clinic in Israeli-occupied territory, though he was actually behind bars at the Taft facility during the time in question. Saunders said Barnes also has multiple state convictions related to impersonating a physician -- including a 1981 manslaughter charge that stems from his misdiagnosis of a diabetic condition. Authorities said the defendant was born Jerald Barnbaum, but changed his name to Gerald Barnes in 1970. He has no a degree in medicine and has never been licensed to practice medicine anywhere in the world, Saunders said. If convicted of all the charges, Barnes could get up to 104 years in prison, the prosecutor said. Barnes pleaded guilty in Illinois to charges related to the escape, and has already received an additional 30-month sentence, according to the government. |
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