United States Drug Enforcement Administration

WASHINGTON – A federal court ordered an Elkin, North Carolina, pharmacy to pay a $500,000 penalty and enjoined the pharmacy and its pharmacists from dispensing controlled substances, including opioids, without taking steps to help ensure the drugs will not be abused or diverted. The consent decree resolves a complaint filed...

Thanks to community members, community partners, volunteers and members of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Field Division (RMFD) the 26th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day was again a success. This past Saturday, often in challenging weather, people brought in their unneeded, unwanted or expired prescription medications to dozens...

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Field Division (RMFD) is proud to be part of the 26th annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day this Saturday, April 27, 2024 from 10:00am to 2:00pm MST at dozens of locations across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana. “DEA’s Take Back events serve as...

DENVER – On Oct. 28, 2023, the community once again emptied their medicine cabinets to help dispose of old, unwanted, and expired medications. Nationwide, DEA and its law enforcement partners collected 599,897 pounds of unneeded medications at 4,675 collection sites. The Rocky Mountain Field Division collected just over 18,500 pounds...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced Savonte Watkins, 46, of Charlotte, to 42 months in prison on drug charges yesterday, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Bell also ordered Watkins to serve three years under court supervision after...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A North Carolina physician appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan C. Rodriguez this morning on charges related to the alleged unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. A criminal indictment charging Henry Ronald Emery, Jr...

NEW BERN, N.C. – A three-judge panel from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a unanimous, published opinion affirming former physician Jong Whan Kim’s conviction and sentence for operating a pill mill in Tabor City. The Fourth Circuit’s decision was the first published opinion by the Court upholding a...

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Dr. Mark S.T. Armitage, a physician practicing with Pelican Family Medicine in Wilmington, North Carolina, agreed to pay $170,000 to resolve alleged violations of the Controlled Substances Act. Dr. Armitage, who previously surrendered his Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration to prescribe controlled substances, further agreed not to...

RALEIGH, N.C. – A former Fuquay-Varina nurse was sentenced today to 48 months in prison and three years of supervised release for tampering with painkillers intended for surgery patients. On March 9, 2022, Melissa Elizabeth Chacona pled guilty to the charges. “Surgical patients trust healthcare providers to give them the...

DENVER - 41-year-old Christopher Robert Pattinson of Commerce City, was sentenced to three years in prison for tampering with fentanyl intended for patient use according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado. According to the plea agreement, Pattinson was a Paramedic Field Lieutenant Supervisor at a Denver-area...