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Attorney General Mike DeWine
Six Additional
Suspects Face Charges as Part of "Operation Safety Net"
(DAYTON, Ohio) -- Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and U.S. Attorney
for the Southern District of Ohio Carter Stewart announced today that
six additional suspects are now facing federal charges as part of an
ongoing investigation involving forged painkiller prescriptions.
The charges are the result of the ongoing "Operation Safety Net"
investigation underway by investigators working as part of an Ohio
Attorney General's Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission
(OOCIC) task force.
The six Dayton residents are all facing a federal charge of conspiracy
to possess drugs with intent to distribute. Additional charges
are expected to be filed in the future.
Of the six suspects, four were arrested and arraigned in the United
States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio yesterday:
Sandy Bryson, 51
Candice Crouch, 20
Dustin Crouch, 26
Mandy McGhee, 37
The fifth suspect is in custody on unrelated charges, and the sixth
suspect was arrested this afternoon.
According to investigators, the six individuals are accused of
purchasing dozens of forged painkiller prescriptions for drugs such as
Oxycodone, Percocet, and Vicodin. The defendants allegedly filled
many of the prescriptions at pharmacies in the Dayton area and profited
by selling the majority of the drugs on the streets.
"Prescription drug addiction is a very serious problem in Ohio, and we
will not tolerate those who traffic pills into our neighborhoods to
feed that addiction," said Attorney General DeWine. "I commend
the local, state, and federal authorities who have been working
throughout the past several months to shut this operation down."
Two individuals suspected of creating and selling the forged
prescriptions were arrested by the task force in November and are also
facing federal charges.
No additional arrests are expected as part of this investigation.
The OOCIC task force responsible for investigating this case is made up
of law enforcement officers from the Tactical Crime Suppression Unit
(TCSU), Centerville Police Department, Kettering Police Department,
Germantown Police Department, Ohio Department of Public Safety, and
U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General.
Authorities with the Dayton Police Department assisted in the
investigation, and authorities with the U.S. Marshals Service Southern
Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST) assisted in serving
arrest warrants.
Established in 1986, the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission
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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