Prescription drugs have a myriad of uses. They can cure certain conditions, improve a patient’s quality of life, and gives doctors and medical professionals another tool to use to treat a serious or debilitating disability or illness. While prescription drug and prescription painkillers are extremely useful, there are downsides to the use of such prescription drugs. In the case of prescription painkillers like Oxycodone, OxyContin, Vicodin, Percocet, Tramadol, and others one of the biggest risks is that of addition. Many of these substances are opiates or synthetic opiates and thus have addictive properties.
In light of the addictiveness of many of these substances, the DEA has scheduled many of these drugs. New Jersey State Law prohibits the possession, manufacture, or distribution of prescription pills without justification or authorization. Individuals charged with the manufacture, sale, or sale of prescription painkillers serious criminal penalties including a prison sentence can be imposed upon conviction.
Man Who Sold 20,000 Oxycodone Pills Sentenced to Prison
A 44-year-ol man from Marlboro, New Jersey admitted to engaging in a scheme that allowed him to obtain and sell a large quantity of prescription painkillers in Monmouth County. According to court documents and from roughly January 2012 to March 2014, David Roth’s scheme involved locating individuals willing to share their names and birth dates. Roth linked up with a doctor allegedly willing to fill prescriptions for oxycodone using this information. In other instances Roth obtained prescriptions for other prescription drugs like Xanax. In some cases the doctor would write numerous prescriptions for a single individual.
Roth would then sell the pills he fraudulently and illegally obtained for roughly $20 to $30 each. In all, Roth earned more than $400,000 selling the illegal prescription pills. Roth also stated that he paid the doctor, Eugene Evans, for writing the prescriptions that allowed him to obtain the drugs.
Roth was sentenced last June. He is ordered to serve five years in state prison for his second-degree drug distribution charges.
Doctor Also Faces Charges for Alleged Role in Prescription Drug Distribution Scheme
In January the doctor implicated in this scheme, Eugene Evans, was arrested at the hospital he worked at in New York. Evans was extradited to New Jersey and now faces charges for conspiracy, obtaining a controlled dangerous substance by fraud, and drug distribution. Prosecutors allege that Evans illegally wrote prescriptions for individuals that he never met with, treated, or examined. Prosecutors allege that in some cases Evans wrote multiple prescriptions for Oxycodone for the same individual backdating multiple scripts. Criminal charges and legal proceeding are pending against the doctor.
Drug distribution charges can carry extremely harsh penalties. Drug distribution charges are indictable offenses which is New Jersey’s equivalent of a felony. Under NJSA 2C:35-5, it is “unlawful for any person knowingly or purposely … to possess or have under his control with intent to … distribute a controlled dangerous substance (or controlled substance analog).”
Penalties an individual can face for the distribution of drugs is based on both the substance possessed and the quantity of that substance possessed. A second-degree crime to manufacture, distribute , or possess any quantity greater than one ounce of a Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 controlled substance. When the weight of a drug or substance is at issue, the weight of the packaged drug is used including any fillers and other substances even if those fillers are legal. A second-degree crime can be punished by a prison sentence of five to 10 years.
Charged With Distribution of Prescription Drugs in South Jersey?
If you have been charged with drug possession, possession with intent to sell, or the manufacture of drugs you face serious criminal charges. Aside from a lengthy prison sentence, monetary fines can also apply. If you face serious drug charges, the stakes are too high to face an experienced state prosecutor alone.
The experienced and dedicated Cape May criminal defense attorneys of the Law Firm of John J. Zarych are committed to providing high-quality and strategic legal counsel for individuals facing life-altering criminal charges. We have offices conveniently located throughout South Jersey in criminal lawyers in Atlantic City, Cape May, Wildwood, and Northfield. To schedule a free and confidential drug distribution defense consultation call (609) 616-4956 or contact us online today.
