Sentencing Postponed For Ex-Cosmetic Surgeon In Death Of Liposuction Patient

VAN NUYS (CBSLA.com) — Sentencing for a former Encino cosmetic surgeon convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a patient was continued Tuesday.

Ehab Aly Mohamed, 48, was found guilty last month of one count each of involuntary manslaughter with great bodily injury and elder abuse after he administered a toxic cocktail of drugs during liposuction surgery.

On Aug. 22, 2010, 61-year-old Sharon Carpenter died in Mohamed's Encino office following a liposuction operation in which she was given a lethal combination of lidocaine, fentanyl and oxycodone during the procedure that lasted more than 10 hours, prosecutors said. She died after midnight in the office.

Mohamed was also convicted of elder abuse involving a second patient who was undergoing a liposuction procedure in an unrelated case.

Joel Price, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, brought Carpenter's death to the attention of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, KNX 1070's Charles Feldman reported in 2010.

"In my 35 years of law enforcement, I have never seen anything quite like it," said Price, who oversaw the case against Mohamed. "He didn't provide the basic life-support system that one would expect would be present in an office where that sort of a procedure was going on."

Mohamed was the subject of a series of investigative reports by KNX 1070 that spanned more than two years. The radio station also learned that he has surrendered his medical license to the state's medical board.

Feldman reports that Mohamed had been incarcerated for other reasons but now faces up to five years in state prison.

Mohamed is an Egyptian national, but Price doesn't think he'll be sent back out of concern for his safety.

"There has been a federal issue as far as deporting him back to his native country of Egypt. He has applied for political asylum, that's my understanding," Price said. "So, I'm not quite sure what they'll do to him."

Mohamed faces up to five years in state prison. A new court date has not been set.