FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sept. 12, 2012
BOONE COUNTY MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ILLEGAL OXYCODONE DISTRIBUTION
Defendant admits to obtaining hundreds of pills from Ohio, selling them in Boone County
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that a Boone County man pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to distribute oxymorphone and oxycodone. Jason McClure, 33, Alkol, Boone County, W.Va., admitted that from January 2010 to January 2012, he made trips from his Boone County residence to Ohio and illegally obtained controlled substances. McClure further admitted that prior to traveling to Ohio, he would contact a known individual by telephone to order quantities of oxymorphone, also known as “Opana” and 30-milligram oxycodone pills, also known as “Roxicodone.” The defendant admitted that he obtained approximately 800 Opana and 200 Roxicodone pills on each trip. After obtaining the pills from Ohio, McClure returned to Boone County, W.Va. to distribute the pills.
McClure admitted that on January 10, 2012, he contacted a known individual and arranged to meet at determined location in Canton, Ohio. McClure admitted that at the time, he obtained 800 Opana pills and 90 Roxicodone pills from the known individual. Following the illegal pill transaction, the defendant was stopped by law enforcement officers for speeding. During the course of the traffic stop, law enforcement officers seized the quantity of pills. McClure admitted to law enforcement that the pills were his and that he was traveling to his home in Boone County, W.Va. to distribute them.
McClure faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine when he is sentenced on December 19, 2012 by United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston.
The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney John Frail is in charge of the prosecution.
This case 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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