LOS ANGELES — More charges were filed Wednesday against the lawyer- boyfriend of Anna Nicole Smith, with prosecutors claiming he helped obtain the drugs that killed the former Playboy model.
Howard K. Stern was charged with five more felony counts in an amended complaint filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, bringing the total number of charges against him to 11.
Smith died of a drug overdose on Feb. 8, 2007, in a Florida hotel room. Prosecutors call Stern an aider and abettor of two doctors, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor and Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, who are charged with improperly prescribing the drugs that killed Smith.
All three pleaded not guilty in May to conspiring to illegally provide Smith with controlled substances. They re-entered their pleas Wednesday to the amended complaint.
The doctors each face six counts including conspiracy, and up to five years, eight months in prison if convicted. It was not clear what sentence Stern would face if convicted, Los Angeles County district attorney’s spokeswoman Jane Robison said.
Search warrant affidavits suggest Stern put his name on prescriptions for opiates that were given to Smith, and claim that 44 different medications were prescribed for Smith under a number of other names, including Stern’s.
Prosecutors declined to elaborate on what prompted the additional charges against Stern.
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