Judge sets bail after Palm Beach VA drug raid

Judge sets bail for woman arrested in drug raid at the VA Medical Center
By CYNTHIA ROLDAN AND CYNTHIA ROLDAN
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Monday, Aug. 22, 2011

WEST PALM BEACH — Terri Guerra went before a judge Monday morning hoping to get some leniency.

But even after listening to the Jupiter woman's attorney try to explain why federal agents found hundreds of prescription pills and thousands of dollars in cash in her home, Circuit Judge Joseph Marx ordered Guerra held on $50,000 bail. And if she posts bond, he ordered that she be placed under house arrest.

Guerra, 53, also ordered not to travel and have no contact with controlled substances, is scheduled to return to court for a status hearing on Sept. 9.

Last Thursday, she was among 17 people arrested during a raid at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Riviera Beach. Unlike the rest, however, Guerra's bond hearing was postponed at the request of her attorney, Joseph R. Atterbury.

Waiting to go before Marx at the downtown courthouse on Monday allowed time for Atterbury to bring in a character witness, the pastor of her church. Meanwhile, Assistant state Attorney Phil Wiseberg brought in an agent of the Office of Inspector General at the VA and an agent of the Multi-Agency Diversion Task Force.

Wiseberg argued that Guerra, who faces conspiracy to distribute oxycodone charges, was well aware of her son's illegal activities. Federal authorities arrested Larry J. Dorsey, 32, in July on the same charge as his mother.
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