Prescription Abuse Trial

From 2007 to 2010, Dr. Lisa Tseng wrote more than 27,000 drug prescriptions—about 25 a day. Some of the appointments at her storefront medical clinic in Rowland Heights lasted as little as three minutes. Now she’s on trial for second degree murder in the cases of three young men who overdosed on opioid painkillers she prescribed. One of the men, Joey Rovero, an Arizona State student, had driven 300 miles from Tempe Arizona to get painkillers from Dr. Tseng. In opening statements, prosecutors said the doctor had been warned by law enforcement that her patients were overdosing. But Dr. Tseng’s defense attorney said her client couldn’t be held responsible when patients didn’t use the drugs as prescribed.