Split verdict for ‘pH Miracle’ author

February 3, 2016, Vista, California, USA_| Robert O. Young sits in the courtroom alone at the Vista Courthouse after hearing the jury in his case found him guilty on two counts, not guilty on one count, and deadlocked on six of the nine charges against him. The jury deliberated for 10 days. |_Mandatory Photo Credit: Photo by Charlie Neuman/San Diego Union-Tribune/©2016 San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC

(San Diego Union-Tribune)

The author of the popular “pH Miracle” book series was convicted Wednesday on two counts of practicing medicine without a license, but acquitted on a third count, in a case that his attorney said was as an attack on alternative care.

Robert Young was led away in handcuffs after the verdicts were read and faces a maximum of three years and eight months in prison. Jurors deadlocked on six remaining charges, including two counts of grand theft.

He was taken into custody at the order of Judge Richard Whitney, who said the defendant presented “a significant public safety issue and a significant flight risk.”

The 63-year-old Young wiped his eyes during the hearing.

“For me personally, it’s hard,” he said during a break in the proceedings after the verdicts were read. “This has been my life. People who know me, know my heart.”

The author of the best-selling “The pH Miracle: Balance Your Diet, Reclaim Your Health,” Young espoused practices that he said could neutralize alkaline and acidity in the bloodstream. Prosecutors had argued that Young defrauded patients who came to his Valley Center ranch for pricey treatments.

Jurors had deliberated for roughly two weeks and at one point notified Whitney that they were at an impasse. He instructed them to keep at it.

On the deadlocked counts, the jury split 11-1 in favor of conviction on most that were related to practicing medicine without a license, and 8-4 in favor of convicting him of theft by fraud.

Three jurors who declined to give their names likened Young’s science to selling snake oil, and one indicated the deadlock was frustrating. “It wasn’t a satisfying conclusion,” Juror No. 10 said.

Young was tried on seven counts of practicing medicine without a license at his Valley Center ranch, The pH Miracle Living Center, where people came for $2,000-a-day retreats. He also faced two counts of grand theft by false pretenses, for allegedly defrauding two patients out of money.

The trial lasted two months, included more than two dozen witnesses, and saw nearly 200 items of evidence introduced. Young did not take the stand, but jurors heard from him through hours of video tapes, including those taken by undercover investigators and an interview posted on YouTube.

Deputy District Attorney Gina Darvas painted Young as a charlatan who preyed on the sick and vulnerable — including dying cancer patients — and duped them with bogus science. She said he didn’t just wear a white coat and “read” his patients’ blood under a microscope, but crossed the line by convincing them that he could cure them.

Darvas argued that Young was diagnosing and treating people at his Valley Center ranch. She also accused him of personally administering IV’s of sodium bicarbonate — baking soda — to at least six terminally ill cancer patients.

Defense attorney Paul Pfingst said Young was targeted because he espouses alternative views to traditional medicine. Pfingst noted the case started with an investigation by the state Medical Board.

He told the jury that people sought out Young precisely because he was not a doctor. He said those who sought help at Young’s 46-acre ranch made an informed choice, and disputed claims that Young told dying patients he could cure their cancer.

Young is not licensed either as a medical or a natropathic doctor. His work focuses on alkaline, acidity and the effects on the body, and highlights the microscopic evaluation of blood. His theories arise from work by an 1800s French scientist.

During the trial, jurors heard from both a doctor and a microbiologist called by the prosecution to debunk Young’s theories. Technically, his theories were not on trial, but rather his practices, which authorities said crossed the line and violated state law.

Young has a doctorate degree in nutrition from a non-accredited and now-defunct correspondence school in Alabama — a “diploma mill,” Darvas said. Young went from a bachelor’s degree to a doctorate in about eight months in 1995.

During his time at the University of Utah in the 1970s, he took just one biology course. He did not graduate from the school.

This case is not the first time Young’s work has landed him in criminal court.

In Utah in 1995, he was arrested on two felony charges of practicing medicine without a license. He pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor, which was dismissed 18 months later under a plea deal. He was charged again in Utah in 2001, but the case was dropped.

Young had been out of custody since posting bail shortly after his arrest in January 2014. More than half of the charges he initially faced were dismissed by the judge who oversaw his preliminary hearing. Charges were also dismissed against two others, including a medical doctor who sometimes worked at the ranch.

Young will be back in court Thursday for a new bail hearing.