Earlier this year, August 20th, the founding guitarist for post-grunge alternative rock band 3 Doors Down, Matt Roberts, was found dead at age 38 due to a prescription medication overdose. Roberts’ body had been discovered in a hotel room in West Bend, Wisconsin, where he was staying with his father, Darrell Roberts, prior to a charity performance for veterans.
Months after the passing away, Alabama physician Richard Snellgrove has been indicted for unlawfully prescribing drugs in connection to the death of Matt Roberts. Apparently, investigators filed a federal complaint, stating that the doctor had prescribed various controlled substances to Roberts without any legitimate medical purpose.
In the filing, an unnamed subject called Dr. Snellgrove as a “celebrity junkie,” describing the doctor’s relationship with the guitarist as “tight” and stated that Roberts had held appointments with him “after hours.”
The document alleges that Snellgrove “prescribed Controlled Substances not for a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice” from October 2010 through August 18th, 2016. Although the report only goes from October 2010, Roberts had been a patient and acquaintance of Snellgrove’s since at least 2004.
According to the medical examiner’s report, Roberts’ official cause of death was “multiple medication intoxication (Fentanyl, Hydrocodone and Alprazolam).” The complaint claims that Snellgrove had prescribed these drugs to “other people” knowing that their final destination was towards the musician’s lap. Snellgrove has been officially charged with “knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully distribut[ing] and dispens[ing]” Lorazepam, Hydrocodone, Methadone and Fentanyl to Roberts.
At the time of his son’s death, Darrell Roberts had said in an interview with CNN that he was aware and worried about his son’s addiction. “I know he had [a] prescription drug addiction. He suffered greatly from anxiety,” he said. “I thought he had beaten it all.”
Following the arrest, Darrell told Fox 6 News that “there’s no satisfaction in seeing a doctor arrested. I don’t have any bitterness, no anger, nothing like that towards the doctor, but I’m also aware this is a serious issue in the medical community all over the United States.”
Roberts had left 3 Doors Down in 2012 citing various health issues.
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