Shreveport Optometrist Charles D. Shanks Jailed for Drug Peddling

Shreveport optometrist Charles D. Shanks, 64, is headed to federal prison after admitting to peddling powerful opioids under the guise of medical practice. Shanks was sentenced Monday to six months behind bars for distributing controlled substances without valid medical purpose, a crime that turned his clinic into a backdoor pharmacy for narcotics.

U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter handed down the sentence after Shanks pleaded guilty on September 14, 2015, to one count of distributing or dispensing a controlled substance. In addition to prison time, Shanks will serve three years of supervised release—time he’ll have to account for every move, just as his patients once relied on him to account for their prescriptions.

The case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James G. Cowles Jr., laid bare a pattern of abuse stretching across 2012 and 2013. During that time, Shanks wrote dozens of prescriptions for codeine and hydrocodone—drugs with high addiction potential—issued not to patients, but to individuals with no medical need and no exam. The prescriptions were filled at multiple pharmacies and obtained through wholesale distributors, bypassing standard medical safeguards.

Federal investigators say Shanks exploited his license as a licensed eye doctor to funnel controlled substances into circulation for non-medical use. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which led the investigation, found no legitimate patient rationale behind the prescriptions—just a steady stream of narcotics flowing from a professional office into the hands of those seeking a high.

While optometrists are permitted to prescribe certain medications related to eye care, they are not authorized to issue long-term painkillers like hydrocodone. Shanks overstepped those boundaries repeatedly, turning his professional authority into a tool for illegal distribution. His actions not only violated federal law but also betrayed the trust placed in healthcare providers during a period of escalating opioid abuse.

United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley emphasized that healthcare professionals who abuse their prescribing power will face consequences. ‘This wasn’t medicine—it was trafficking,’ Finley said. ‘A license to heal does not grant a license to deal.’ Shanks must surrender to authorities within 30 days to begin his sentence.