Emergency room nurse arrested for domestic violence, possession of hospital drugs

Mark Winston Cherry

By Joe Johnson

An emergency room nurse was recently found in possession of drugs from the hospital when he was being investigated for domestic violence.

The victim called 911 at about 5:30 a.m. on May 17th to report that 35-year-old Mark Cherry had pushed her down a flight of stairs during an argument at their home.

When responding to the residence a police officer spotted Cherry in his pickup truck at a gas station on Tallassee Road.

While speaking to Cherry , the officer detected the odor of alcohol and saw him toss a bottle of tequila to the other side of the truck,

Cherry reportedly remarked that he was familiar with the officer from having seen him at Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center, where Cherry is a nurse in the emergency room.

He refused to be tested for sobriety, according to police, and during a search of the truck officers found empty vials of morphine and other drugs from the hospital, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, ondansetron, and prochlorperazine.

Cherry was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of multiple substances, possession of controlled substances, and possession of prescription drugs outside of the original containers.

He was further charged with battery under the Georgia Family Violence Act.

The police incident report states that the 32-year-old victim had visible injuries from being pushed down the stairs, but it doesn’t indicate whether she required medical treatment.

“An investigation for the drugs along with the stolen items from the hospital is still ongoing,” the police report states.

On Wednesday Cherry remained held without bail in pretrial detention.

Anyone who is in an abusive relationship can seek advice and support services by calling Project Safe's 24-hour hotline at (706) 543-3331, or by visiting http://www.project-safe.org