Pharmacist accused of diluting drugs files for delay

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City pharmacist accused of diluting drugs has filed a formal request to delay his trial, citing a need for more time to prepare.

Robert R. Courtney, 48, has pleaded innocent to 20 counts of tampering, adulterating and misbranding the chemotherapy drugs Gemzar and Taxol.

A federal judge last week set an Oct. 1 trial date for Courtney. Prosecutors have pressed for a speedy trial, but lawyers agreed earlier this week the case probably would not start until after the first of the year.

Either a setting on the February 2002 docket "or a special setting would best serve the interests of justice," Courtney's lawyer Jean Paul Bradshaw wrote in his motion for a continuance.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Larsen will rule on the issue after prosecutors respond to the motion.

Bradshaw said the facts of the case and the legal issues were complex, and that he needed more time to evaluate the procedures used in Courtney's pharmacy. He also said he needed to research the federal anti-tampering act under which Courtney is charged to determine whether his client could have caused "serious bodily injury," as the indictment alleges.

Expert witnesses and independent drug testing laboratories also must be retained, Bradshaw said.

"The ends of justice would be served by the granting of this continuance and would outweigh the interests of the public in a speedy trial," Bradshaw argued in his request.

Federal agents, who are continuing to investigate Courtney, released records last week showing three more medications -- and possibly a fourth -- that were diluted.

Authorities have said Courtney could face new charges based on the continuing investigation, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Gene Porter, who is prosecuting the case, says he won't pursue new charges for months. He said he is primarily focused on the existing case.