FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aug. 6, 2012
DETROIT MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FEDERAL OXYCODONE CHARGE
Defendant admits fleeing police at Greyhound terminal while carrying bag containing painkillers
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that a Detroit man pleaded guilty in federal court to interstate travel to promote drug activity. Deangelo Cann, 22, of Detroit, admitted that on February 7, 2012, he traveled by Greyhound Bus from Detroit to Charleston in possession of a quantity of oxymorphone, also known as “Opana” and oxycodone pills. Cann further admitted that he intended to both use and sell the pills. After arriving in Charleston, the defendant departed the Greyhound bus terminal with a quantity of pills inside of a dark gray bag. Shortly after leaving the terminal, the defendant was approached by a uniformed police officer. Upon seeing the approaching officer, Cann immediately began to run with the bag containing the illegal pills. Cann also admitted that during the pursuit, he attempted to throw the bag which was later recovered by law enforcement officers. The pills contained in the bag were submitted to the West Virginia State Police lab and proved to contain oxymorphone and oxycodone.
Cann faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on November 13, 2012 by United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston.
The Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) and the Charleston Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney John Frail is in charge of the prosecution.
This is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District.
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