GLENDALE : Birth Center Staff Members Charged

Five women have been charged with practicing medicine without a license at a Glendale birthing clinic, a prosecutor said.

Those charged include Tonya Brooks, director of the Gentle Birth Center at 116 S. Louise St.; Linda Bennett, director of perinatal services; Shannon Brooks, a labor coach; and two former clinic employees, Diana Gearhart and Lisa Block.

All five were charged with conspiracy to practice medicine without the proper licenses, Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Dawson said. If convicted of the felony, they could be sentenced to a maximum of three years in state prison.

The women pleaded not guilty Thursday before Los Angeles Municipal Court Commissioner John Ladner, who scheduled a preliminary hearing for June 9. All five have been released on their own recognizance, officials said.

Brooks faces an additional battery charge for assaulting a CBS cameraman who went to the center last month to cover the story. Arraignment was set for May 9 in Glendale Municipal Court.

The 9-year-old center offers professional childbirth services for “a lot less money,” a lawyer for the clinic said. Police started investigating activities at the clinic in December, 1990, after receiving information about excessive 911 calls from clinic employees.

In January, 1991, the California Medical Board and Glendale police obtained a search warrant for the center. Records eventually led officials to narrow their investigation to two cases: an infant who died during birth at the center in March, 1990, and another baby who stopped breathing shortly after birth in December, 1990.