Fugitive nurse, accused animal hoarder surrenders to authorities

Geoffrey Peterson is charged with animal cruelty in Sequatchie County.
Geoffrey Peterson is charged with animal cruelty in Sequatchie County.

Geoffrey Deane Peterson, the man accused of abusing his elderly father, hoarding more than 60 animals in squalid conditions and using his license as a nurse practitioner to prescribe copious amounts of narcotics, turned himself in at the Sequatchie County Sheriff's Office on Monday, Sheriff Ronnie Hitchcock said.

photo Geoffrey Peterson who is charged with animal cruelty in Sequatchie County.

Peterson arrived with his attorney and was calm, Hitchcock said.

"He seemed relieved to get it over with," he said.

The 55-year-old will face an additional charge of failure to appear and is scheduled to be in court on Friday, Hitchcock said. His attorney, Dan Warlick, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

Peterson skipped out on a $10,000 bond that stemmed from his Dec. 19 arrest, when authorities raided his feces-filled home in Dunlap and found dozens of animals in poor condition.

From that raid, he was charged with multiple animal abuse charges as well as felony possession of morphine.

Then, in January, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration raided a pair of medical clinics in Hixson that Peterson ran as a licensed nurse practitioner. Former patients said Peterson was running "pill mills" out of the clinics -- prescribing powerful narcotics for nonmedical reasons.

DEA officials would not confirm the nature of the investigation.

After the raids, Peterson's medical license was suspended under an emergency order by the Tennessee Board of Nursing. The order of suspension listed 17 reasons why Peterson presents an "extreme and untenable danger to his patients and the public of Tennessee."

Authorities also searched a Hixson home connected to Peterson, and they found the man's 88-year-old father, Walter, in poor condition. Peterson was subsequently charged with willful abuse and neglect of an elder on Jan. 23, but authorities could not find him to book him and he had been wanted since.

Contact staff reporter Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com with tips or story ideas.

Timeline of Geoffery Peterson investigation

* Dec. 19, 2014: Geoffery Deane Peterson is arrested after officers with the Sequatchie County Sheriff's Department found 58 animals, including dogs, cats, a pigeon and a goat, inside the home where he was living in Dunlap, Tenn. * Dec. 20: An officer with McKamey Animal Services found three emaciated dogs in the exam rooms at Holistic Health and Primary Care, where Peterson saw patients. * Dec. 23: McKamey officers removed seven more emaciated dogs from a home in Chattanooga that had been linked to Peterson. * Jan. 12, 2015: The Tennessee Department of Health sent an investigator to Peterson's hormone replacement clinic after receiving a complaint on Peterson's license. But Peterson locked the doors of the clinic and refused to let the investigator inside. On the same day, the investigator tried to speak to Peterson's father, Walter Peterson, at a home in Hixson. Before the investigator left his car, Geoffery Peterson arrived, banged on the car and demanded the investigator leave. * Jan. 15: Chattanooga police officers attempted to check on Walter Peterson but Geoffery Peterson refused to let the officers into the home. * Jan. 12 - Jan. 23: Adult Protective Services attempted to check on Walter Peterson on three different occasions during this time frame. * Jan. 23: DEA agents raid Peterson's two clinics and a home connected to him. Former patients say Peterson ran a pill mill. * Jan. 23: Multiple agencies execute a warrant to search Walter Peterson's home. His father is found in poor condition and is taken to a hospital. Peterson's wife, 88-year-old Sheila Peterson, is arrested and charged with willful abuse or neglect of an elder. A warrant is issued for Peterson on the same charge. * Jan. 27: The Tennessee Board of Nursing suspends Geoffery Peterson's nursing license in an emergency order. * March 2: Peterson turns himself in to the Sequatchie County sheriff with his attorney.

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