Colorado doctor Scott Burke was arrested on an 82-foot yacht with guns, drugs and prostitutes held on $200,000 bail
The retired Colorado doctor who was arrested this week on his yacht with guns, drugs and prostitutes appeared in court Friday and was held on $200,000 bail. according to a report.
Scott Burke, 69, of Englewood, was arrested Wednesday after police received a call about a possible overdose woman who apparently felt unsafe on his 82-foot vessel in Nantucket Harbor and wanted to leave.
Officers boarded the Jess Conn yacht and handcuffed Burke after finding cocaine, ketamine, two handguns and ammunition on board.
There were also several prostitutes, according to the Nantucket Current.
Burke pleaded not guilty to weapons possession and drug charges at his hearing Friday in Plymouth District Court, the Boston Globe reported.
It was unclear whether Burke has since posted bail.
Police said the woman who called police “did not want to be there, was under the influence of narcotics and possibly [had] overdosed.”
Burke told arriving officers that he had licenses for the weapons — a .380 pistol and a 9mm pistol — but authorities noted they were issued in Florida and expired last year.
Police also seized a total of 43 grams of cocaine and 14 grams of ketamine, a horse tranquilizer.
Burke was initially arrested on two counts of possession of a firearm without a license, authorities said.
He was later charged with additional charges of illegal possession of ammunition and drug abuse following the incident.
Records show the retiree was first licensed to practice medicine in Colorado in 1981 and that his license expired in 2021.
According to online records, Burke previously ran a spine and rehabilitation clinic and founded a health insurance company about two decades ago.
The Globe reported that Burke’s 2021 Nordhvn yacht first arrived in Nantucket from Newport on August 23 and is registered in the Cayman Islands. He also has a home in the Florida Keys.
