Articles Posted in Drug Crimes

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From July 2011 through July 2014 a Lynwood physician allegedly prescribed narcotic prescriptions in large amounts and accepted cash payments for the transactions. The patients receiving the medication did not receive regular examinations and it is suspected that many of them did not have a medical need for the pills. He is accused of using his practice to make illegal drug deals.

Dr. Edward Ridgill has been accused of prescribing and selling considerable amounts of Norco, Xanax and Soma pills, which are dubbed the “trinity” by drug users due to the high achieved by consuming the opiate, sedative and muscle relaxer at the same time. It is reported that he handed out over 21,000 prescriptions during a three year period.

A DEA task force began an investigation on Ridgill employing anonymous sources who made appointments with the doctor and were fitted with surveillance cameras hidden inside of cups, buttons, hats and purses prior to their visits. The collected videos depicted the visits of the undercover mock patients where Ridgill prescribed and accepted cash payment for the drugs, and in some cases no examination was performed. Expert review of the videos and patient files raised enough suspicion to warrant charging 65-year-old Ridgill with several counts of illegal distribution.

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A high school teacher in Indiana has been accused of using drugs on school grounds inside of her classroom after students witnessed her snorting powder and one of them video recorded her on a cell phone.

Samantha Cox, an English teacher at Lake Central High School, had been inside of her empty classroom on Wednesday when she allegedly went into a corner where she believed she would not be seen in order to snort an illicit substance.

Students began to arrive outside of the classroom and they spotted Cox trying to be inconspicuous in the far corner. When they became aware of what she was doing one of them pulled out a cell phone and began documenting her drug use. The video was then uploaded to social media, but it has yet to be officially authenticated.

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According to Rutherford police, a Hackensack attorney who specializes in DUI cases let himself into the Rutherford, NJ home of an unsuspecting couple late on Saturday afternoon. They were further bewildered by the man’s attire which consisted only of a t-shirt and a pair of high heels.

He allegedly came into the home through an unlocked door while the husband and wife were watching television. Upon entering he announced, “I’m here!” He was bottomless and wearing a snug black T-shirt and black high heels at the time.

The astonished husband called 911 to report the incident, and when he noticed the intruder’s vehicle was parked in their driveway he wrote down the license plate number. The man reportedly realized he was in the wrong house and promptly returned to his car and drove away.

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A Pompton Lakes man who volunteers as a Santa Claus impersonator was pulled over while driving on Monday and arrested for alleged drug charges.

Charles R. Smith, a retired New Jersey Transit worker, currently does volunteer work dressing as Santa Claus for the Toys for Tots Foundation. He had been driving down Route 46 around 2:00 in the morning on Monday when South Hackensack police pulled him over for a routine traffic stop. Smith stated that he was on his way to a nearby motel at the time. One of the officers spotted a crack pipe next to Smith’s Santa suit which was hanging in the vehicle, and a search of the car allegedly uncovered empty plastic bags containing crack cocaine and heroin residue. A hypodermic needle was also said to be amongst the contraband items.

66-year-old Smith was taken into custody and faces two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released shortly after his detainment and awaits a court hearing. It is unknown whether Smith has legal representation at this time.

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During a traffic stop on a speeding vehicle traveling on I-5 in Oregon, a State Police officer uncovered 201 pounds of marijuana in the possession of two men in a rented Ford Explorer. The men were allegedly transporting the large stash to Minnesota.

According to investigators reports Shakopee, Minnesota, resident Pandy Hout and Lor Meng of Sacramento, California, traveled by plane out of Denver and landed in southern Oregon at the Rogue Valley International Airport. After renting an SUV they headed to an unknown site in California and acquired 201 pounds of marijuana. It is purported that they intended to transport the cannabis to Minnesota.

On the afternoon of October 18, Hout, the driver of the vehicle, was speeding which caused an Oregon highway patrolman to pull him over. The officer suspected illegal activity and performed a roadside investigation. He searched the interior of the SUV and discovered several bags containing a total of 201 pounds of marijuana.

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Kimberly Quach, the mother of a Cathedral Catholic High School student, is suspected of selling marijuana and prescription drugs to her daughter’s school friends. Police reported that she allegedly sold drugs to the minors during a period beginning January 1, 2017, through the time of her arrest in late September.

As stated in court documents, she is also accused of recruiting a teenage girl for the purpose of selling marijuana to students at both Cathedral Catholic and La Jolla High Schools. In addition, Quach allegedly instructed the girl on how to accept payment from purchasers both online and in cash. When the girl was questioned she claimed that she made less than 10 marijuana sales, each weighing under one ounce, in the month preceding Quach’s arrest.

Quach’s dwelling was purportedly a well-known party house for teenagers looking for a place to purchase and use marijuana, prescription medication and alcohol. Parents of one of the partiers found suboxone pills in their child’s bedroom, along with text messages of their daughter asking Quach to obtain pain medication for her. The authorities were notified, and an 8-month investigation began.

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Authorities reported that after an eight-month investigation, police arrested 25-year-old Matthew Ryan Wood of Seal Beach for allegedly causing a car accident while intoxicated, resulting in the death of a 19-year-old woman.

The crash took place on the afternoon of December 9, 2016. Wood was driving a pick-up truck eastbound when he passed over a painted center median resulting in a collision with a westbound traveling minivan driven by Lisa Shelhorn. Shelhorn was declared dead at the scene and Wood was in critical condition and treated at a local hospital.

Wood faces charges for suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated, transportation for sale of a controlled substance, and possession of a controlled substance with a firearm.

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32-year-old Jerilee Hughes was arrested after the Northwest Narcotics Task Force searched her home and found glass jars with psilocybin mushroom spores and growing supplies, as well as a small bag of useable mushrooms. Police also procured small amounts of marijuana and methamphetamine as well as residue-coated paraphernalia.

Hughes faces two felony and five misdemeanor drug related charges. During her bond hearing, the prosecuting attorney accused Hughes of cultivating enough mushrooms to consider her a danger to the community. She is being held on $10,000 bond.

Due to financial hardship, Hughes, who alleges she has never before been implicated in legal issues, asked for a lower bond. She willingly offered to participate if a stipulation was added where she take part in regular drug testing.

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A jailed inmate and his attorney are facing federal charges for a scheme to allegedly distribute drugs to an Anchorage Correctional Complex for sale between inmates, according to federal prosecutors.

Kit Lee Karjala, a 54 year-old attorney and her 33 year old client, Christopher Brandon Miller, an inmate at the ACC, are charged with distribution of, and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, drug conspiracy, and providing and possessing contraband in prison.

A statement made by the Alaska U.S. attorney’s office on Thursday said that Karjala and four other inmates allegedly started this smuggling ring during the second half of last year and continued “until the present”. Prosecutors claim that Karjala allegedly took advantage of her attorney-client visits to smuggle drugs to Miller, and also other inmates that were not her clients. Karjala would allegedly transfer the drugs while blocking the cameras and then the inmate would allegedly carry the drugs “inside his body” into the jail, according to the statement.

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The parents of an 8 year old boy have been charged with child endangerment after their son survived an overdose of heroin last month, according to police.

On January 11th the police responded to a call of a child not breathing at a home in a suburb of southwest Cleveland, Ohio. They found the boy unresponsive in the living room with his father doing chest compressions on him. The boy was transported to the hospital after an officer found a pulse. The parents, Charles Dowdy and Danielle Simko are suspected of narcotics use after drugs and syringes were found on the property, the police report stated.

The father had told police that he and the mother were in bed with their son when he noticed that the child’s lips were turning blue.

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