The former disaster chairman of the Utah County Chapter of the American Red Cross will be arraigned Thursday in 4th District Court on one count of occupations violations, a third-degree felony.
Utah County prosecutors allege that Darryl L. Barksdale, 36, practiced medicine without a license while giving first-aid and CPR classes last year. A preliminary hearing was held in February, but 4th District Judge Steven Hansen only recently bound Barksdale over for arraignment. Hansen allowed the prosecution and defense to file written arguments before making his ruling.Barksdale resigned as the local Red Cross disaster chairman in December 1992 after being asked to step down by the board of directors. Prior to his resignation, Barksdale accused staff members of trying to get reimbursements from victims and firefighting agencies.
According to a court affidavit, investigators say Barksdale charged $500 for a first-aid course sponsored by Emergency Medical Services Education Association. The document says Barksdale taught the class under the guise that he represented the Red Cross and had the authority to certify students as Red Cross emergency first-responders, when he did not have Red Cross authority.
The court affidavit also alleges that Barksdale practiced medicine without a license when he gave a Red Cross volunteer a pelvic examination in 1990 to diagnose whether the woman was pregnant. The affidavit alleges that a former Red Cross volunteer told Barks-dale in September 1990 that she might be pregnant and he convinced her to allow him to do a pelvic examination. He told the woman that she was not pregnant and as a result she continued taking birth control pills and had a miscarriage two weeks later, the affidavit says.
According to the affidavit, a student who attended the first-aid course on Sept. 28 says Barksdale told class members that he would demonstrate how to perform pelvic examinations if the females would be willing to participate. He also told students that he would make house calls if they were sick, examine them and tell them what kind of medicine to take, the affidavit alleges.
Investigators said Barksdale claimed to be a licensed paramedic and said he earned his certification from Weber State College and once worked as a paramedic for Orem city. However, investigators said Barksdale has never been certified as a paramedic in Utah and his emergency medical technician certification lapsed.
If found guilty of the charge, Barksdale faces a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.