Clinic Owner, Doctor Accused of Operating Suspected 'Pill Mill'

Two men have been arrested and charged with allegedly operating a suspected pill mill in southwest Cherokee County.

The Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad on Monday arrested Tom Hourin, 41, of Woodstock, and Fayetteville resident Dr. Kelvin White, 54, and charged them with crimes relating to carrying out the operation at Atlas Healthcare and Rehab, the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.

Hourin, the owner and operator of the business, is being held at the Cherokee Adult Detention Center on 18 felony charges, including possession of hydrocodone, possession of Xanax, drugs to be kept in original container and unlawful use of a blank prescription. His bond has been set at $224,680.

Dr. White, who was also arrested at his home in Fayetteville, is expected to be transported on Tuesday to the Cheorkee Adult Detention Center to face those same 18 felony counts, CMANS Commander Phil Price said.

CMANS were contacted Dec. 17 by an investigator with the Georgia Composite Medical Board, the state agency that oversees the licensing and monitoring medical doctors and certain medical practices. The investigator told Cherokee officials he had ”information on a medical practice operating as a pain clinic,” Price added.

Price said witnesses informed CMANS agents and state investigators that while prescription varied from patient to patient, they mostly consisted of oxycodone, Xanax, Adderall, Lortab, Soma and Valium.

Additionally, from Dec. 9 to Dec. 18, “actions taken at the clinic as described by the patients and employees” amount to violating Georgia code section 16-13-41, which among other things, regulates how prescriptions are dispensed in Georgia.

Based on that information, agents obtained and executed a search warrant Monday afternoon for Atlas Healthcare, which is at 5505 Bells Ferry Road just south of Highway 92 in unincorporated Acworth.

Those taking part in the search include CMANS agents, investigators from the state, Georgia Drug and Narcotics Agency and the sheriff’s office.

Agents seized records, over $10,000 in cash, a handgun and several pre-signed blank prescriptions.

Officials anticipate other arrests in the case “once all the documentation and interviews have been carefully reviewed in conjunction with the office of Blue Ridge Judicial Curcuit District Attorney Shannon Wallace,” Price said.

The Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad is a joint task force working in Cherokee County to investigate drug-related violations. Participating agencies include the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office, Canton Police Department, Woodstock Police Department, Holly Springs Police Department, Ball Ground Police Department, Cherokee County Marshal’s Office, Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit’s District Attorney’s office, Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Georgia State Patrol.

Citizens may call in tips anonymously to (770) 345-7920 or can speak to an agent by calling (678) 493-7625.

Photo: Tom Hourin, 41, of Woodstock. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff’s Office