Updated 11/12/19

A longtime Columbia doctor who had five patients die of fatal overdoses in less than a year intends to plead guilty to a federal drug crime.

Dr. Darrel Rinehart, 64, who ran a clinic in Columbia for decades, was indicted on 19 counts of distribution of a control substance in March. His attorneys last week filed a motion asking for a court hearing in December at which “intends to plead guilty.”

One of Rinehart’s attorneys, James Simmons, said Monday that Rinehart would confess to at least one count of drug distribution. Simmons said the decision to plead guilty came after Rinehart’s legal team examined the discovery provided by prosecutors, but declined to speak in detail about the case.

Rinehart worked at least two decades for Core Physicians, also known as Family Health Group, a clinic in Columbia. The clinic was purchased by Maury Regional Hospital in 2015, and the new owners were among the first to take issue with Rinehart's prescriptions.

After his prescriptions were questioned, Rinehart relocated to Indiana and worked at least two hospitals. The Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners agreed to suspend but not revoke Rinehart’s medical license if he agreed not to attempt to practice medicine in Tennessee ever again.

Rinehart was also criminally investigated by police and prosecutors in Maury County, who used an informant to capture undercover video footage inside his clinic, but the local case never reached prosecution.