Prosecutors have charged a California plastic surgeon with murder for allegedly refusing to contact 911 after a woman on whom he was conducting a breast augmentation fell into cardiac arrest, reports claim.
According to KNSD-TV, KGTV-TV, and KSWB-TV, Megan Espinoza, 36, fell into cardiac arrest during a cosmetic procedure at Divino Surgical Center in Bonita, Calif., in December 2018.
Quoting San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Gina Darvas, the outlet states Espinoza’s surgeon, Dr. Carlos Chacon, reportedly delayed more than three hours to contact 911 and banned his workers from doing so as well while Espinoza died.
Chacon was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter, but on Monday, the district attorney’s office upgraded the charges against the defendant to murder after they say the investigation revealed he allegedly left Espinoza’s operating room to consult with four other patients as she was experiencing a medical emergency, KNSD reports.
“The defendant basically doubled down on his actions and stopped other individuals from contacting 911 and caused Ms. Espinoza to practically suffocate for a three-hour period before emergency services were ultimately dispatched,” Darvas said, according to KGTV.
Authorities also accused Chacon of employing a poorly qualified nurse to give anesthetic to the woman and of allegedly lying to her husband, who contacted the surgical facility to check on her throughout the treatment.
According to KNSD, Chacon has pleaded not guilty to the accusation. “Despite what the prosecution claims about these interactions with people, nothing has changed from a medical standpoint. That is the same case,” his defense counsel Marc Carlos told the broadcaster.
“So, now to ratchet this up to a murder charge is something I’ve never seen. I’ve been working for 30 years in criminal defense, and I’ve never seen anything like this.” A court placed Chacon’s bail at $500,000.
His bail restrictions bar him from doing surgery in an unaccredited institution and from alerting all patients that he is facing a murder accusation. He has also been required to utilize a licensed anesthesiologist, the site adds.
Chacon is due back in court on June 5.