Pubdate: Sun, 15 Apr 2001
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2001 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Josh White, Washington Post Staff Writer

10 CHARGED AS VA. RAID TURNS UP NEW NARCOTIC

Prince William Investigation Shows Spread Of OxyContin

Prince William County and Manassas police raided three houses in the 
Yorkshire area late Friday, arresting 10 people and seizing more than 200 
tablets of a potentially lethal painkiller that officials say is fast 
making inroads into the Washington region.

The drug, OxyContin, is a synthetic form of morphine usually prescribed for 
terminal cancer patients and others with chronic pain. The powerful opiate 
has been blamed for at least 39 deaths in Southwest Virginia since1997, and 
narcotics officers warn that it could be the successor to heroin and 
cocaine among drug addicts. On the street, OxyContin sells for 10 times its 
pharmacy price.

Friday's arrests resulted from a seven-month investigation focusing on the 
Yorkshire residences, where undercover officers arranged to buy OxyContin 
and other drugs. In addition to the 200 pills, police seized $2,000 in 
cash, two guns and unknown amounts of marijuana, cocaine and Dilaudid, 
another synthetic narcotic. Seven adults and three juveniles were rustled 
out of the homes during the 2 1/2-hour raid.

The illegal use of OxyContin, first noted in sparsely inhabited Appalachia, 
has spread to the Washington suburbs in recent months, police said. In 
February, a Manassas man was charged with stealing 90 bottles of the 
painkiller from a pharmacy in Fauquier County; that same month, more than 
$12,000 worth of OxyContin was taken from a pharmacy in Fairfax.

OxyContin, the brand name for oxycodone, is manufactured by Purdue Pharma 
LP, of Stamford, Conn. In the past 18 months, police and health officials 
in southwestern Virginia and other rural areas have discovered a huge 
illegal market for the drug.

Virginia and other states have recently launched campaigns warning of the 
drug's effects, but those efforts have focused on rural communities where 
abuse is considered widespread. Last week, Virginia Attorney General Mark 
L. Earley (R) announced creation of a task force -- its members largely 
from the southwestern part of the state -- to address illegal use and sales 
of OxyContin.

"It's not just in the rural areas, it's all over," said 1st Sgt. Jay 
Lanham, who oversees narcotics detectives in Prince William. "We know 
there's a lot of OxyContin out there, and we know there's a lot of demand 
because the supply is moving very quickly. It is absolutely a significant 
problem here."

Initially, users simply swallowed the time-release pills or crushed and ate 
them. But Prince William police say some addicts now dissolve the pills in 
water and inject the drug like heroin, while others prefer to inject a rare 
liquid form. Detectives also have found OxyContin "lollipops."

Friday night's raid commenced about 9:30 p.m. when a convoy of two dozen 
police vehicles descended on the Yorkshire neighborhood. SWAT teams 
simultaneously raided two homes, one on Maplewood Drive, the other not far 
away on Rugby Road. At the first address, a pit bull bit two SWAT members 
on the leg; inside, officers found a half-dozen people, some with needles 
hanging from their arms.

Arrested at the Maplewood address were Joseph Michaels, charged with four 
counts of conspiring to distribute OxyContin, two counts of distribution of 
cocaine, one count of conspiring to distribute metham- phetamines and one 
count of maintaining a public nuisance; Leonard Michaels and Tanya Mullin, 
each charged with possession of cocaine; and Patrick Hogan, of Manassas 
Park, wanted on a fugitive charge of malicious wounding.

At the Rugby Road site, police arrested Carol Mullins on three counts of 
contributing to the delinquency of a minor and child endangerment. Three 
juveniles at the home were charged with marijuana possession.

The suspects' ages were not available yesterday.

During the raids, police spotted a man suspected of selling OxyContin in 
the area. They later arrested him on distribution charges at his home on 
nearby Spruce Street. As Toby Terry, 31, was being apprehended, officers 
said they observed his wife, Mary, tossing OxyContin pills out a back 
window of the couple's house. She was charged with possession of the 
narcotic and child endangerment.

Terry, who described himself as an unemployed addict, said after his arrest 
that OxyContin is "a very nasty drug. It has definitely ruined my life."

According to search warrant affidavits filed in Prince William, police had 
been monitoring the Maplewood Drive and Rugby Road locations since early 
last year.

At one point, according to the affidavits, an area doctor told police of 
her suspicions that several of her patients with prescriptions for 
OxyContin were "reselling these prescriptions on the street." Police then 
linked one of the patients to the Rugby Road address.

Police Chief Charlie T. Deane has no doubt that Prince William's first 
major OxyContin bust won't be its last. "I'm afraid this is going to be the 
first of many," he said. "It's a serious problem."
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