Murder indictment against Desai stands

District Judge Valerie Adair on Wednesday refused to dismiss the murder indictment against Dr. Dipak Desai in the hepatitis C outbreak.

But Adair held off ruling on whether to dismiss the case against co-defendant Ronald Lakeman, a nurse anesthetist who worked at one of Desai's clinics during the 2007 outbreak.

Adair set a Jan. 3 hearing to help her determine whether Lakeman should stand trial on allegations of a conspiracy that led to the death of Rodolfo Meana, a victim of the outbreak.

Desai, 63, and Lakeman, 65, are facing second-degree murder charges stemming from Meana's death earlier this year. The two defendants also are facing several felony counts, including racketeering, neglect of patients and insurance fraud.

Defense lawyers last week argued that the indictment violated the due process rights of their clients and did not directly tie them to Meana's death.

Desai performed the colonoscopy on Meana that led to his hepatitis infection in 2007, and Keith Mathahs, another nurse anesthetist, participated in the procedure.

Lakeman did not participate, but prosecutors argued last week that Lakeman was just as culpable in Meana's death under the theory of the murder charge, which alleges all three defendants were part of the conspiracy that endangered the lives of Desai's patients.

Mathahs, 76, pleaded guilty last week to five criminal charges, including patient neglect resulting in Meana's death. Mathahs agreed to testify against Desai and Lakeman at their April 22 trial.

Desai's lead lawyer, Richard Wright, declined to comment Wednesday on Adair's decision. So did Chief Deputy District Attorney Mike Staudaher, the lead prosecutor in the high-profile case.

Lakeman's attorney, Rick Santacroce, said, "I'm encouraged that the judge is giving our petition a thorough consideration."

Last week, Santacroce said in court that it would be "absolutely absurd" to let the murder indictment move forward against Lakeman.

The indictment accuses Desai, a gastroenterologist who has surrendered his medical license, and the nurse anesthetists of unlawfully "introducing the hepatitis C virus" into Meana's body during the colonoscopy.

Meana, 77, died in April of complications from hepatitis C in his native Philippines.

His infection was among seven that health officials genetically linked to Desai's main clinic, the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. Health officials have said dozens more cases were "possibly linked" to the clinic.

Officials concluded Meana and five other patients contracted hepatitis C through unsafe injection practices on Sept. 21, 2007. Another patient was infected on July 25, 2007. The outbreak was blamed on nurse anesthetists reusing vials of the sedative propofol between patients after they had become contaminated by patients with hepatitis C.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.