Lazzerini, 43, operated Premier Family Practice on Fulton Drive NW.
He became Ohio s highest prescriber in the state for controlled substances between December 2015 and January 2016, court records show.
Law enforcement raided his office in February 2016 after a lengthy multi-agency probe. Investigators contended Lazzerini was running a pill mill, a term used to describe a doctor, clinic, or pharmacy that is dispensing powerful narcotics inappropriately or for non-medical purposes.
Lazzerini prescribed controlled substances to patients living as far away as West Virginia, and was seeing between 70 to 80 patients a day, a former employee testfied.
In one incident, Lazzerini s patient died in a drug overdose after being prescribed Percocet, fentanyl, Alprazolam and hydrocodone on the same day in August 2014.
Travonce Backie, 34, through defense attorney Ty Graham, filed a motion to change his plea to both not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity.
A hearing is set for June in Stark County Common Pleas Court.
What happened to Canton s Ralph White?
Backie is accused of beating a 85-year-old Ralph White when two vehicles collided around 10:39 p.m. in the 2600 block of Eighth Street NE on Feb. 27. White said he was beaten while still in his vehicle. He was hospitalized with multiple injuries later treated and released.
According to police, Backie fled and was arrested by U.S. Marshals, with the assistance of the Canton Police K-9 unit, on March 2. He was released from probation five weeks earlier, having served 10 years in prison for an aggravated burglary conviction.
CANTON TWP. – Timothy Ward, like a lot of people, has an affinity for milk and cheeseburgers.
Unlike much of the general population, Ward keeps cattle and goats on a one-acre lot in a residential subdivision.
It s put him at odds with township officials who recently filed a lawsuit against him in Stark County Common Pleas Court. Our last choice is to go that route, township Trustee Christopher Nichols said. The lots are very narrow. I believe it is foul odors that are causing issues. That is a property we have been round and round with for months. He is in violation of our zoning code. We would be seeking a court order to enforce our zoning code. He has been on our zoning list since November of last year.
CANTON – The case against Jason A. McDermitt now rests in the hands of jurors.
Closing arguments Wednesday afternoon capped McDermitt s aggravated murder and stalking trial in Stark County Common Pleas Court. McDermitt, 29, is accused of killing his 29-year-old coworker, Morgan Fox, in October.
Fox was found partially inside her vehicle in the driveway at her Plain Township home. She was shot twice in the head sometime between 1:30 a.m. and 2:15 a.m. Oct. 28 and discovered by her live-in boyfriend approximately four hours later.
Stark County prosecutors said their evidence is circumstantial but there is direct evidence that McDermitt was sneaky, stealthy and deceptive. They allege he drove to the area, parked in a neighbor s yard and then shot her death on a rainy night as she got ready to leave for work.