RENO, Nev. (AP) -- A Reno doctor accused of running an illegal drug ring out of his family practice has made his initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco.
Dr. Robert Rand was arrested in San Francisco last week upon his return from a vacation to Hawaii.
U.S. Magistrate Elizabeth Laporte denied a his request to set bail on Monday and ordered him held until a formal detention hearing scheduled Friday.
Rand is accused of writing pain medication prescriptions for people who did not need them. Richie West of Reno and seven other people also have been charged in connection with what federal prosecutors say was a conspiracy to distribute the drug Oxycodone through workers at the Jones West Ford dealership in Reno.
Authorities say one person died partly as a result of an overdose of the drug last fall.
