PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Douglas Craig Reid Jr., 47, and Martrice Lamar Portis, 47, both of Pensacola, have been charged in federal court with conspiracy to unlawfully dispense and distribute controlled substances and to obtain controlled substances by fraud. The charges were announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for...

PENSACOLA, FLA – Alexandra M. Christensen, 31, Lindsay N. McCray (also known as Lindsay Rogers), 42, Heather T. Bradley (also known as Heather Thomas), 37, and Jennifer E. Purves, 39, all of Pensacola, Fla., pleaded guilty in federal court to charges in connection with the unlawful diversion of controlled substances...

MIAMI –The Drug Enforcement Administration, in collaboration with nearly 4,000 law enforcement partners across the country, will host the 29 th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day this Saturday, October 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. At nearly 4,000 collection sites throughout the United States, DEA’s National Prescription Drug...

Tampa, Fla. – U.S. District Judge William F. Jung has sentenced Vicente Lopez Mero (67, Ecuador) to 19 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine on a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Lopez Mero pleaded guilty on...

Jacksonville, Fla. – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announced Brian Gregory Brightman (31, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Brightman faces a minimum sentence of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet...

MIAMI — Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and more than 4,400 law enforcement partners recently collected nearly 630,000 pounds of unused medications at 4,600 locations nationwide. This effort to empty medicine cabinets helps prevent drug misuse before it starts. Since its inception, DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day has removed...

MIAMI –DEA and its local law enforcement partners collected 670,136 pounds of unused medications during the 26th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 27, 2024. More than 200 Florida collection sites were available in 2024 with 29,964 pounds of unused prescription medication collected. In its 15th year of...

MIAMI – On January 12, a Miami federal court jury convicted a doctor of conspiracy to unlawfully dispense and distribute controlled substances, and six counts of unlawfully dispensing controlled substances. The conviction followed a seven-day trial before U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn. Under federal law, a physician is authorized...

TAMPA , F la. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that a federal jury found Dr. Qing McGaha guilty of 14 counts of unlawful drug distribution, four (4) counts of money laundering, and one (1) count of filing a false tax return. McGaha faces a maximum penalty of...

MIAMI – Dr. Ronald Lubetsky was sentenced this week to five (5) years in prison by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks for unlawfully dispensing narcotics—specifically oxycodone and morphine. Lubetsky was convicted at trial in November on seven counts of unlawfully dispensing narcotics. Trial evidence showed that law enforcement learned...