Dentist and former Barren County magistrate Chris Steward, who has pleaded guilty to a number of federal drug offenses, needs to have a hearing to determine his competency to stand trial, his attorney said Wednesday in a court filing.

Steward, of Park City, pleaded guilty in May in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green to three counts of distributing and dispensing controlled substances outside the course of his professional medical practice, two counts of conspiring to acquire possession of controlled substance by fraud and one count each of acquiring possession of controlled substance by fraud and health care fraud, accepting an agreement that recommends a prison term of 18-30 months.

Steward’s sentencing is set for Sept. 20, but his attorney, Steve Romines of Louisville, has requested a hearing to determine Steward’s competency.

“There is unquestionably reasonable cause to believe that Mr. Steward is suffering from multiple illnesses,” Romines said in the two-page filing. “He has been diagnosed by multiple doctors.”

Federal prosecutors have no objection to holding the hearing, according to Romines’ motion.

Competency hearings are more often held before a defendant has pleaded guilty, but federal law allows courts to hold a competency hearing at any time prior to sentencing if there is reasonable cause to believe that the defendant may be suffering from a mental disease or defect that leaves him unable to assist in his defense or understand the nature and consequences of the criminal proceedings against him.

A message left with Romines’ office was not returned Wednesday afternoon.

Steward, who had a dental practice in Cave City and ran unsuccessfully in 2014 for Barren County Judge-Executive, was accused by authorities of conspiring with two patients to fraudulently obtain drugs such as Xanax, hydrocodone, Ambien and Halcion by writing prescriptions for those substances in the patients’ names and instructing the patients to fill out the prescriptions, with the pills to be given to Steward.

One 2015 incident outlined by federal prosecutors had Steward write a prescription for 30 hydrocodone pills for a patient, identified as “A.J.”, who requested that the prescription be written in another person’s name so that A.J.’s name would not appear in the statewide computer database that tracks all prescriptions.

The prescription was left in an envelope in an alley behind Steward’s office for A.J. to retrieve, according to federal court records.

— Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter @jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com