Surgeon Ailing After Questioning

The Anaheim surgeon questioned last week in connection with the attempted murder of an Irvine businessman was hospitalized with chest pains after his encounter with police last week and was listed in stable condition Monday.

Dr. Jerry D. Nilsson was admitted to Western Medical Center-Anaheim on Friday evening after being escorted to the facility by federal law enforcement agents. He had just undergone several hours of questioning about the plot to kill Biofem Inc. CEO James Patrick Riley, who was shot in the face Feb. 28 outside his Irvine Spectrum office.

Nilsson is a longtime friend and hunting partner of the late Dr. Larry C. Ford, Patrick Riley’s partner at Biofem. Ford committed suicide March 2, the day after detectives searched his Irvine home.

Nilsson, 69, was taken from his Anaheim home in handcuffs Friday after police said they had evidence that might link him to the attack on Riley. He was questioned by Irvine police but not arrested and has been ruled out as the shooter. Prosecutors have charged Dino D’Saachs, a Los Angeles businessman and close friend of Ford’s, with driving the gunman’s getaway van.

Nilsson could not be reached for comment Monday.

Fearing Nilsson was dangerous, police used a ruse Friday to draw him out of a home he shares with his girlfriend and her three children. Witnesses said that when he emerged, Nilsson was wrestled to the ground by five law enforcement agents.

Irvine Police Lt. Sam Allevato said Nilsson had a medical complaint during questioning. He was treated first by paramedics, then a doctor, Allevato said.

Hospital spokesman Ron Bingham said Nilsson’s hospitalization was not a result of any physical injury he may have suffered in his encounter with police. “The nature of the admission had nothing to do with physical trauma,” Bingham said. “He was not beaten up.”

Police, FBI agents and hazardous-materials teams scoured Nilsson’s Anaheim home on Deerwood Drive for evidence Friday and Saturday. Hazardous-materials experts and the Anaheim Fire Department removed boxes of material from the property for testing.

The Medical Board of California revoked Nilsson’s license to practice medicine March 27 after allegations that the surgeon had sexually molested one patient and carried on an affair with another that had begun when she was 14.