WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. (AP) – A Wheat Ridge doctor is facing more than 50 federal criminal counts of distributing drugs outside the scope of his professional practice.

Authorities say in court papers that they charged Dr. Kevin Clemmer, a Jefferson County osteopath, in connection to three deaths and perhaps others who took oxycodone, a synthetic opiate similar to heroin.

According to the Denver Post, Clemmer has pleaded not guilty and is set for trial at the end of July. His attorney, Mitchell Baker, declined to comment about the charges or the investigation.

From 2007 to 2010, the number of prescriptions written in Denver for oxycodone rose by 41 percent, according to the Denver Office of Drug Strategy.

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