Trial date set for indicted northern Utah doctor

SALT LAKE CITY  — A federal judge has set a June trial date for a Brigham City physician charged with illegally prescribing painkillers to hundreds of patients.

Dewey C. MacKay on Tuesday pleaded guilty to charges in a 130-count federal indictment in Salt Lake City's U.S. District Court.

Magistrate Judge David Nuffer set a June trial date for MacKay.

Prosecutors say MacKay routinely issued prescriptions to as many as 120 patients a day. They contend patients received limited or no physical exams before being issued prescriptions for the painkillers hydrocodone and oxycodone.

The first two counts of the indictment alleged the prescriptions resulted in the death of one patient.

If convicted on those charges alone, MacKay could spend 35 years in prison and pay $2.5 million in fines.