Miss-Delectable
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Deaf man waives hearing in fraud case, bound over for trial
OROVILLE - A deaf man charged with using his hearing impairment to obtain a large supply of prescription drugs fraudulently in Butte County was bound over for trial Friday after waiving a preliminary hearing in the case.
The attorney for Robert Lee Berry, 51, agreed the police evidence that would have been presented was "more than sufficient" for a bind-over.
The deaf defendant was ordered held for trial on 15 felony counts, alleging he used his disability to defraud several local doctors and pharmacies.
Sheriff's detectives say they are currently working with authorities in New York, who have issued an arrest warrant charging Berry with befriending and stealing money from as many as 65 deaf people in that state.
Extradition proceedings to return him to New York are pending the outcome of the Butte County charges.
Speaking through a sign-language interpreter, the gray-haired, bespectacled defendant nodded affirmatively when Superior Court Judge Gerald Hermansen inquired whether he wanted to waive Friday's preliminary hearing in the local drug fraud case.
Berry remains in custody on $500,000 bail pending formal arraignment April 26.
OROVILLE - A deaf man charged with using his hearing impairment to obtain a large supply of prescription drugs fraudulently in Butte County was bound over for trial Friday after waiving a preliminary hearing in the case.
The attorney for Robert Lee Berry, 51, agreed the police evidence that would have been presented was "more than sufficient" for a bind-over.
The deaf defendant was ordered held for trial on 15 felony counts, alleging he used his disability to defraud several local doctors and pharmacies.
Sheriff's detectives say they are currently working with authorities in New York, who have issued an arrest warrant charging Berry with befriending and stealing money from as many as 65 deaf people in that state.
Extradition proceedings to return him to New York are pending the outcome of the Butte County charges.
Speaking through a sign-language interpreter, the gray-haired, bespectacled defendant nodded affirmatively when Superior Court Judge Gerald Hermansen inquired whether he wanted to waive Friday's preliminary hearing in the local drug fraud case.
Berry remains in custody on $500,000 bail pending formal arraignment April 26.
