Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Examiner - March 17, 2006
Marisa Lagos
However, the attorney for Stephen Brian Turner asked for a week to review what he characterized as a "stiff" offer.
Prosecutors would not disclose terms of the deal, but Turner's attorney, Terry Francke, confirmed that it would include jail time, and said he and his client had hoped for more leniency. Turner admits fault for his actions and is sorry, Francke said.
The former doctor will return to court on Thursday to either accept or reject the plea deal.
Turner is accused of giving 1,417 immigrants - including elderly people and children - fake medical exams, vaccine shots filled with saline solution and false HIV and syphilis test results. San Francisco prosecutors also accuse Turner of bilking his victims out of more than $240,000 from August 2003 to December 2005 for the exams and tests, which cost around $200 each.
Turner, a Hayward resident who lost his California medical license in 1998, allegedly committed the crimes out of two Mission District clinics. Turner also worked out of a Santa Rosa Catholic Charities location during that time, and may have previously conducted similar procedures in Fresno County, according to officials.
Francke said Thursday that law enforcement may be launching similar investigations into Turner in Alameda, Santa Rosa, Fresno and Sonoma counties.
"He knows he's in big trouble," Francke said of his client. "But this [plea offer] is a little stiffer than what we wanted."
Francke, who has expressed concern in the past about Turner's mental state, said he hopes that his client is placed in a facility that can offer sufficient medical care.
Prosecutor John Dwyer said the one-week extension is "not unusual," adding that the District Attorney's Office is interested in moving the case along quickly.
For some of Turner's victims, that may not be easy. One woman from Argentina who wished to remain anonymous because of her immigration status, said she saw Turner last fall and feels violated by the whole experience.
"How would you feel?" she asked, adding that she paid him $200 only to learn from her immigration attorney that she was given fake vaccines and would have to pay a valid doctor to redo them. "The guy is a thief as far as I know."
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