Police arrested a 26-year-old man last week for his alleged involvement with a Colorado Springs drug ring. Allegedly, the man helped file 97 bogus prescriptions for drugs and helped remove 11,570 pills from area pharmacies. This most recent arrest marks the 25th arrest related to the alleged drug ring.
According to police, the drug-related incidents happened in 2015. The 26-year-old man in this most recent arrest had four warrants out for his arrest. He was captured while exiting a hotel room.
Until his arrest, the man was one of three outstanding suspects. The 24 that were previously arrested have already completed their trials. Most of them negotiated plea bargain arrangements with authorities and were punished with probation for 18 months.
The drug ring was first suspected in June 2015, when a WalMart pharmacy discovered 35 bogus prescriptions for drugs including Methadone, Norco, OxyContin, OxyCodone, Ambien and Xanax. Each of the prescriptions was written by the same nurse practitioner. More investigation found that an addition 62 bogus prescriptions had been written by the same nurse practitioner at other Colorado Springs pharmacies.
The nurse practitioner says that she was unaware that the drugs had been prescribed in her name. Through the use of the bogus prescriptions, the drug ring allegedly distributed 11,160 OxyCodone tablets, 90 Methadone tablets, 120 Norco tablets, 90 Xanax tablets and 60 OxyContin tablets, 20 Prednisone tablets and 30 Ambien tablets.
Colorado springs residents accused of drug crimes will have the right to a criminal defense. If it is found that the evidence against the accused is particularly strong, those accused of drug crimes may wish to negotiate a plea deal. This is a way to plead guilty to one or more charges in exchange for a more lenient punishment.
Source: gazette.com, “Police: Man arrested wanted in connection with Colorado Springs prescription drug ring,” Kaitlin Durbin, Jan. 26, 2017
