Westminster : Tests Ordered for Man Who Posed as Doctor

A West Superior Court judge Monday ordered a Santa Ana man who posed for 1 1/2 years as a physician at two Orange County urgent-care centers to undergo a thorough evaluation before sentencing.

West Superior Court Judge Phillip Cox ordered Enrique Herrera, 36, to undergo up to 90 days of evaluation and psychological testing at the California Institute for Men in Chino. On July 25, Herrera pleaded guilty to a charge of practicing without a license, one count of forging a narcotics prescription and four counts of forging other prescriptions.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Martin Engquist said the evaluation was ordered to determine whether Herrera should serve prison time “or can function under probation.”

Although the recommendation resulting from the evaluation is not binding on the judge, the prosecutor said that Cox wanted the testing completed before formal sentencing. Herrera must appear again before Cox on or before Nov. 4, depending on when the evaluation is completed.

“I think he should be sent to state prison,” Engquist said.

The Orange County Probation Department earlier submitted its own recommendation to the judge, asking that probation be denied. Herrera, who worked at Emergi-Care Family Center clinics in Westminster and Fountain Valley, could receive a maximum of six years in prison.

A former Navy medical corpsman, Herrera was arrested in April by investigators from the California Board of Medical Quality Assurance after he had applied for renewal of a physician’s medical license.