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Attorney General Mike DeWine
Addiction
Counselor Arrested on Charge of Aggravated Trafficking in Drugs
(POMEROY, Ohio) -- Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and members of the
Major Crimes Task Force of Gallia and Meigs Counties announced today
the arrest of an addiction counselor on a felony charge of aggravated
trafficking in drugs.
Roberta Payne, 52, of Cheshire, was arrested Friday evening in Pomeroy
after she allegedly sold an undercover task force officer more than
2,000 morphine pills and 30 milligrams of liquid morphine. The
street value of the drugs exceeds $36,000.
Authorities began investigating Payne, who is employed as an addiction
counselor in Gallipolis, after receiving a tip that she offered to sell
morphine to a drug counseling client.
"This case is especially disturbing because the suspect was trusted to
help those suffering from addiction, but instead investigators found
that she used her position of trust in an attempt to push more pills
into the community," said Attorney General DeWine.
"The action taken by the task force, with the support from the Attorney
General's Office, proves that we have zero tolerance for those
trafficking drugs in our backyards," said Meigs County Sheriff Keith
Wood. "This task force has been very successful, and
investigators will continue to pursue those who bring drugs into
southeast Ohio."
"This case is shocking," said Meigs County Prosecutor Colleen
Williams. "An addiction counselor knows firsthand the effects
drugs have on people, and Ms. Payne is attempting to make money preying
on the very people she should be helping."
"What is particularly disappointing about this is that a person who has
been placed in a position of trust has apparently abused that trust by
using her job to further illegal activities which are counterproductive
to her position," said Gallipolis Police Chief Clinton Patterson.
The Major Crimes Task Force of Gallia and Meigs Counties is part of the
Ohio Attorney General's Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission
and is comprised of investigators and prosecutors from the following
agencies: Meigs County Sheriff's Office, Gallia County Sheriff's
Office, Gallipolis Police Department, Middleport Police Department,
Meigs County Prosecutor's Office, and Gallia County Prosecutor's Office.
Established in 1986, the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission
(OOCIC) assists local law enforcement agencies in combating organized
crime and corrupt activities. The Commission is composed of
members of the law enforcement community and is chaired by the Ohio
Attorney General. In 2014, authorities working in OOCIC
task forces across the state seized more than $23 million worth of
drugs and more than $5 million in U.S. currency.
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