A Lawrence County grand jury late last week handed down a 98-count indictment against former South Point physician Jeffrey Scott Stephenson.

Stephenson, 46, of 9072 Ohio River Road, Wheelersburg, was indicted on four counts of second-degree felony possession of drugs, 71 counts of third-degree felony possession of drugs, three counts of fourth-degree felony deception to obtain a dangerous drug and two counts of fifth-degree felony attempted deception to obtain a dangerous drug. The charges span a period of five years, and involve such medications as Lorcet, Tylenol 4, Xanax, Vicodin and Oxycontin.

Lawrence County Prosecutor J.B. Collier Jr. said the investigation into Stephenson's practice was initiated by the Ohio State Medical Board.

"Back a couple of years ago, they (the Ohio State Medical Board) were having problems from him and they began investigating," Collier said.

"He did not cooperate, so the matter was turned over to the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy. It was uncovered that he was abusing his privileges as a doctor and he was not keeping appropriate records.

According to information from the Ohio State Medical Board, Stephenson's license was suspended in March 2002 after he was diagnosed with chemical dependency.