Anna Nicole Smith's boyfriend convicted in drug conspiracy

By Alan Duke, CNN

October 28, 2010 5:38 p.m. EDT

Anna Nicole Smith died in 2007 from what a Florida medical examiner ruled was "acute combined drug intoxication."

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Dr. Eroshevich was found guilty of two conspiracy charges and two other counts
• NEW: Dr. Kapoor was acquitted on all charges
• NEW: Stern was found guilty on two charges
• NEW: The judge set sentencing for January 6

Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Anna Nicole Smith's boyfriend-lawyer Howard K. Stern and Dr. Khristine Eroshevich were found guilty on two charges of conspiring to provide drugs to a known addict and using false names to obtain them Thursday.
Dr. Sandeep Kapoor was acquitted on all counts against him.
Eroshevich, a psychiatrist who flew to Smith's side in the Bahamas after her son's death in 2006, was also convicted on two other charges relating to a Vicodin prescription given to Smith.
The jury deliberated for 12 days before returned its verdicts in the trial that included two months of testimony,
Stern and the doctors were charged with conspiring to feed the reality TV star and Playboy model's drug addiction, and using false names to obtain the drugs over the last three years of her life.

Video: Smith appears drugged in video

Video: Anna Nicole Smith trial may set precedent

RELATED TOPICS

• Anna Nicole Smith
• Howard K. Stern
• Prescription Drugs

The three defendants were not charged in Smith's February 2007 death in a Florida hotel, which a medical examiner ruled was an accidental overdose of a sleep aid combined with the effects of a viral flu.
The case raised questions about ethical boundaries in a doctor-patient relationship, the prescribing of painkillers and anti-anxiety medicines and the use of fake names when treating celebrities.
The defense called only one witness -- an expert who concluded that Smith suffered from chronic pain, depression and anxiety, not drug addiction.
Her drug dependency was legal since it was for legitimate medical purposes, including for treatment of her pain and anxiety, defense lawyers argued.
The prosecution said the doctors never said no to Smith's drug-seeking because they wanted to be part of her celebrity entourage.
False names were used by Stern and the doctors to hide excessive prescriptions from the state's computer system that monitors drug usage, prosecutors argued. The defense said it is a common practice in Hollywood, used to protect celebrities' privacy from prying tabloid reporters.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert Perry hinted before the verdicts were returned that if any defendants were found guilty, he would consider "possible selective prosecution issues" when sentencing them. He would have the power to reduce most of the felony charges to misdemeanors.

After the verdicts were returned, Perry set sentencing for January 6. Stern and Eroshvich could face a maximum of three years each in prison, according to the prosecutor's office.