According to reports from the Zachary Police Department, on or around September 1 of this year Dr. Rachel Gruner of The Gruner Clinic, LLC, of Zachary, reported in February of 2004 that she hired a Shontel Hukins, 37, of Denham Springs as a Medical Assistant. Hukins recently resigned and an audit of her computer was performed only to discover that Hukins apparently created numerous prescriptions under her user name and password that were related to patient charts.

This audit was prompted after other clinic employees stated that Hukins supposedly bragged about her and her boyfriend’s narcotic use. Dr. Gruner indicated that the false prescriptions were later deleted.

A computer representative showed Dr. Gruner how the prescriptions were created without creating a patient’s chart, and then later deleted without detection. The charts in question, Dr. Gruner advised, were not even patients of the clinic.

Dr. Gruner noticed in the list of patients two names that were familiar, Hukins and Bradley Bordelon, who was supposedly known to associate with Hukins, and was not a patient of Dr. Gruner. Dr. Gruner later contacted local pharmacies where she was advised that numerous prescriptions for “controlled dangerous substances” were dispensed for Hukins and Bordelon. Dr. Gruner then had substantial proof with what appeared to be Hukins’ name and initials on the prescriptions.

Dr. Gruner stated that Hukins was granted permission to authorize refills for existing patients after conferring with her and reviewing the patient’s chart. However, the prescriptions that were authorized for Hukins and Bordelon were fraudulent.

Police detectives were able to obtain prescription summaries for both Hukins and Bordelon from various pharmacies throughout Zachary and surrounding areas. After reviewing the summaries, detectives observed that from December 2005 to present, the accused manufactured approximately 342 fraudulent prescriptions for controlled dangerous substances. Detectives also received information from Dr. Gruner that a representative called Gruner from a pharmacy in Walker regarding a refill on Hydrocodone for Hukins. The representative apparently told Gruner that a woman had contacted the pharmacy identifying herself as Hukins and requested that the prescription be refilled. Dr. Gruner told the representative that the prescription was a fake and advised them to contact the Walker Police Department.

Narcotic detectives from the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office contacted the Zachary Police Department and indicated that Hukins had been arrested and was in LPSO custody for obtaining controlled dangerous substances by fraud. Zachary detectives went to the LPSO where they conducted an audio recorded interview with Hukins at which time she was very cooperative.

During questioning Hukins provided detectives with both oral and written statements indicating that over the past three years, she manufactured fraudulent prescriptions under her and Bradley Bordelon’s name. She also informed the detectives that she ingested approximately 20-30 pills daily.

Hukins explained how she generated the fraudulent prescriptions. She stated that she made the prescriptions using the office computer, printed and signed Dr. Gruner’s name and placed her initials along the side. Once the prescriptions were printed, she would then delete them from the system. She then would contact a pharmacy and call in the refill, if a request for the refill was submitted she simply signed it and sent it back.

On October 29, the Zachary Police Department issued a warrant for Shontel Hukins' arrest and is currently waiting for her to turn herself in to authorities.