A South Bay plastic surgeon is now facing a murder charge after prosecutors say they discovered new evidence that shows the death of a patient was the result of recklessness and an effort to put profits before patients.
Dr. Carlos Chacon was performing a breast augmentation surgery on Megan Espinoza in December 2018 at the Divino Surgery Center in Bonita when the mother of two went into cardiac arrest. Espinoza later died and Chacon was charged with involuntary manslaughter and several counts of practicing medicine without the proper certification.
Last week, Chacon was arrested again. This time the charge is murder. According to Deputy District Attorney Gina Darvas, new information shows not only did Dr. Chacon refuse to call 9-1-1 for more than three hours, he also forbade his employees from doing so. In addition, Darvas told the court that Chacon lied to Espinoza’s husband about her condition, and although he called two other doctors to ask their advice on how to proceed, he did not give them all the information about her condition.
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Even when Chacon did call 9-1-1, Darvas said Chacon lied to the operator to cover up after the fact in an effort to create "plausible deniability."
Darvas also revealed the surgeon left Espinoza in the operating suite to tend to four other patients as she lay dying.
“He can’t be providing life-saving treatment to the victim on the table when he’s in his practice seeing other patients,” said Darvas. “We found that to be extremely egregious.”
Chacon made the “intentional decision” to conduct surgery using a nurse who wasn’t trained to properly administer anaesthesia, said Darvas, who asked the judge to order Chacon to use only trained professionals to help him during surgery.
Chacon pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. One of his attorneys called the charges “unique, extraordinary and unfair.”
“Nothing has changed,” said attorney Marc Carlos. “Despite what the prosecution says about these interviews with individuals, nothing has changed from a medical perspective. It is the same case. So now to ramp this up to a murder charge is something I’ve never seen. I’ve been practicing for 30 years in criminal defense and I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Carlos said other doctors should be concerned about this case “because if something bad happens, this is what’s happening to them next.”
Attorney David Rosenberg is assisting in Chacon’s case. He said Chacon took the necessary steps to try to save Espinoza’s life. He also praised the plastic surgeon for all the good he’s done during his career.
“The fact that he’s never been sued until this event occurred I think speaks to the quality of his work,” Rosenberg said.
The judge rejected the prosecution’s request to set Chacon’s bail at $5 million, instead setting it at $500,000.
There are stipulations: Dr. Chacon cannot do surgery in an unaccredited facility. He must use a qualified anesthesiologist and must notify all surgical patients that he’s facing a murder charge.
The deputy district attorney said Chacon’s surgery center is not accredited at this time. She also said the California Medical Board is looking into revoking Chacon’s medical license.
Chacon returns to court on June 5 for a preliminary hearing.
Espinoza’s family provided NBC 7 with this statement after Chacon was arraigned on a murder charge:
“The Espinoza and Gorcey families hope to see justice done for Megan. We eagerly await the next steps in this case and ultimately hope for legislative changes that will prevent this type of tragedy from happening again and ensure the public is properly informed regarding the medical professionals they seek care from.”
