For the second time in five years, Alberto Gonzalez has been convicted of practicing medicine without a license. <\/p>\n
Gonzalez pleaded no contest Monday to the felony charge and faces two years in custody. Three misdemeanors were dismissed under the plea agreement. <\/p>\n
Sentencing is set for Aug. 17. <\/p>\n
According to the state Department of Consumer Affairs, Gonzalez ran a business in Lamont where he practiced as a doctor and administered injections to patients. He also admitted upon his October 2016 arrest to treating people in the Monterey and Seaside areas. <\/p>\n
Prosecutor Kacie Spenst said she hopes \"the people of Lamont are protected by this conviction.\" <\/p>\n
In 2012, Gonzalez was investigated by the Bakersfield Police Department when they learned he had been practicing medicine inside of his home. <\/p>\n
Police reports filed in court said Esther Diaz Figueroa contacted authorities on Oct. 21 of that year and said she had gone to see a doctor who claimed to be from Los Angeles. Figueroa, worried she was diabetic, said the doctor, later identified as Gonzalez, injected her with four syringes of medicine and charged her $400. <\/p>\n
Figueroa told police she began to suspect that the \"medicine\" was in fact just water or a saline solution, the reports said. <\/p>\n
Officers went to Gonzalez's residence in the 5700 block of Monitor Street and found 10 people waiting at the front door. Police said a patient directed officers to a bedroom where they found several vials of prescription medication and an uncovered trash can with used syringes. <\/p>\n
Several of the syringes were marked \"Testosterone,\" according to the reports. When police asked Gonzalez where he got his medication, he told them he got most of it from salesmen who came to his home. <\/p>\n
There were also several vials of blood in a bag in the living room from patients with high blood pressure, the reports said. Gonzalez told officers he diluted the blood with water and dumped it in the backyard. <\/p>\n
Police found two guns in the home, one reported stolen out of Los Angeles County. <\/p>\n
Gonzalez, in that case, also pleaded no contest to practicing medicine without a license and received a two-year sentence. <\/p>\n
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Bakersfield man pleads no contest to practicing medicine without a license - The Bakersfield Californian<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For the second time in five years, Alberto Gonzalez has been convicted of practicing medicine without a license. Gonzalez pleaded no contest Monday to the felony charge and faces two years in custody. Three misdemeanors were dismissed under the plea agreement Continue reading