Friday, January 30, 2004
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Friday, January 30, 2004 |
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Doctor wants out of county jail for medical difficulties By JOHN MUNFORD Dr. Orlando Cano, a former Fayetteville physician serving a year in jail for inappropriately touching two female employees, is hoping to get sprung from lockup on a medical waiver. Cano’s attorney, Theodore H. Lackland, has petitioned the court to modify Cano’s sentence “to take into account his apparently deteriorating physical condition.” State Court Judge Fletcher Sams took no action at a hearing Wednesday morning, waiting to hear if the medical findings warrant a change in Cano’s sentence. Lackland said Wednesday that Cano, 66, thinks he suffered from a heart attack while at the Fayette County Jail, where he has served 105 days of his 12-month sentence. Cano formerly practiced at Monarch OB/GYN, which had locations in Fayetteville and Henry County. Cano can no longer practice medicine according to a condition of the probation he will serve once he is released from jail. Cano also has to pay a $10,000 fine as part of his sentence, which was handed down in September after a jury found him guilty of two counts of sexual battery. In December, Cano pled no contest to one count of simple battery for having inappropriate contact with a female patient. State Court Solicitor Steve Harris noted that jail officials had taken Cano to be checked out by a doctor at Southern Regional, but Cano refused treatment at the time. That was because Cano was skittish; he thought the hospital was going to perform surgery, not an exam, Lackland said. “We will submit to the test,” Lackland said. According to a letter from Cano’s cardiologist, he has suffered at least one heart attack in the past and it is recommended he undergo a heart catheterization to determine if surgery is necessary. A jail staffer present at the hearing said Cano would be taken back to Southern Regional as soon as the hospital can schedule an appointment for him. “The only problem is getting Dr. Cano to agree to go in,” Judge Sams said. Cano’s cardiologist indicated in the letter that he was “seriously concerned” about Cano remaining in jail while suffering from coronary artery disease.
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