FORMER MEDICAL EXAMINER BRUCE LEVY INDICTED ON POT CHARGES

He Pleads Not Guilty in Mississippi Case

Former Davidson County and state Medical Examiner Bruce Levy was
indicted Tuesday on charges of possessing more than 30 grams of
marijuana in Mississippi.

Levy had been arrested in March after authorities say a drug dog
sniffed marijuana in a package bound for his Ridgeland, Miss., hotel.
State narcotics agents searched the hotel room and found even more
marijuana, authorities have said. In all, police estimate they found
more than 40 grams of drugs.

On Tuesday, Levy appeared in a Madison County courtroom to be served
with the indictment and be arraigned.

"I have no comment about the case," said Levy's attorney, David
Raybin. "Dr. Levy ... entered a plea of not guilty."

Levy, who has been free on $25,000 bond, could face 20 years in prison
if convicted of the felony charge.

Levy had been Tennessee's head medical examiner since 1998 and was
president and CEO of Forensic Medical in Nashville. He served as
Davidson County's medical examiner and contracted in Mississippi to do
autopsies there as well.

He has been suspended from working in any of those
locations.

But Levy's troubles may not be limited to Mississippi.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation wrapped up an investigation into
Levy's activities in Tennessee earlier this year. There had been
worries that the drugs could have been stolen from corpses that his
office received.

The Davidson County District Attorney General's Office continues to
investigate whether Levy compromised any criminal cases.

The drug case is tentatively scheduled to begin in January in Madison
County.