United States v. Jones

196 F. Supp. 3d 518, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94360, 2016 WL 3940888
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 20, 2016
DocketCRIMINAL ACTION No. 16-33-1
StatusPublished

This text of 196 F. Supp. 3d 518 (United States v. Jones) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Jones, 196 F. Supp. 3d 518, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94360, 2016 WL 3940888 (E.D. Pa. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

ANITA B. BRODY, District Judge.

Defendant Dwayne Jones is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 and multiple substantive counts of possession of oxycodone in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C), acquiring a controlled substance by fraud in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 843(a)(3), and aiding and abetting in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2. Jones moves to dismiss the conspiracy charge, Count I of the indictment, on double jeopardy grounds. ECF No. 23. For the reasons set forth below, I will grant the motion.

1. BACKGROUND

a. Summary

Beginning in 2009, Keith Harris, an assistant office manager for the medical office of Dr. James W. Shepard, M.D., engaged in an extensive scheme to steal, forge, and distribute fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone. While employed at Dr. Shepard’s office, Harris wrote thousands of fraudulent prescriptions using Dr. Shepard’s credentials and forged signature. Harris distributed these fraudulent prescriptions to a number of individuals, including Dwayne Jones. Every fraudulent prescription obtained by Jones originated from Harris and contained Dr. Shepard’s credentials. Upon receipt of the prescriptions from Harris, Jones passed and redistributed them to obtain oxycodone tablets. This conduct forms the basis of the two conspiracy indictments against Jones.1

b. Jones-Dwyer Case (2015 Superseding Indictment)

In September 2015, a federal grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania returned a superseding indictment (the “2015 Superseding Indictment”) charging Jones and a codefendant, Devon Dwyer (the “Jones-Dwyer” case), with one count of conspiracy to distribute oxyco-done in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846.2 The [521]*5212015 Superseding Indictment stated that the conspiracy lasted from on or about May 8, 2009 until on or about September 26, 2011. The 2015 Superseding Indictment also charged Jones with thirty-one counts of distribution of oxycodone in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C), eight counts of acquiring a controlled substance by fraud in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 843(a)(3), one count of money laundering by concealment in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1), one count of money laundering for a transaction greater than $10,000 in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957, and aiding and abetting in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2.3 The 2015 Superseding Indictment identified four additional coconspirators by their initials, including “K. H.,” later identified as Keith Harris. The 2015 Superseding Indictment noted that three of the four named coconspirators were “charged elsewhere.” 2015 Superseding Indictment ¶ 3, United States v. Jones, No. 13-577-2, (E.D.Pa. Sept. 23, 2015), ECF No. 31.

On March 7, 2016, I began a criminal jury trial against Jones and Dwyer on the charges in the 2015 Superseding Indictment. At the trial, Harris and two of the other coconspirators identified by their initials in the 2015 Superseding Indictment testified on behalf of the Government. Harris, who forged every prescription in the scheme using Dr. Shepard’s name, credentials, and signature, was the Government’s primary witness.

In the conspiracy charged in the 2015 Superseding Indictment in the Jones-Dwyer case, Jones obtained a total of 592 fraudulent prescriptions from Harris. Jones then passed or helped pass the 592 fraudulent prescriptions, including over 300 prescriptions in his own name and 200 prescriptions in the names of his cocon-spirators, Jones, Dwyer, and their cocon-spirators filled the fraudulent prescriptions at a total of fifteen different pharmacies in Philadelphia. They visited several pharmacies per day, generally soliciting local, independent pharmacies to avoid detection and suspicion. Through the passing of these prescriptions, the conspirators obtained 28,020 (10 milligram) tablets, 20,380 (30 milligram) tablets, and 7,110 (80 milligram) tablets of oxycodone, The Government identified 100 of the passed prescriptions as overt acts of the conspiracy.

At the trial, Harris testified about his involvement in the scheme and explained how the scheme operated. Harris Test. Tr. 8:18-11:16, 15:25-17:5, United States v. Jones, No. 13-577-2, (E.D.Pa. Mar. 8, 2016). I learned from Harris' how he wrote and forged the prescriptions before ever meeting with Jones. Harris Test. Tr. 8:18-11:1, 18:11-15, At some point during the scheme, Harris encouraged Jones to become a patient of Dr. Shepard to avoid suspicion and make the prescriptions easier for Harris to forge. Harris Test. Tr. 17:6-18.

I also learned from Harris about the intricate system the conspirators used to ensure that Dr. Shepard’s office verified each fraudulent prescription. Harris Test. Tr. 20:6-21:5, 22:12-25:19. Harris explained that pharmacists often called the doctor’s office to verify the prescriptions before filling them because the prescriptions were for controlled substances. Harris Test. Tr. 20:17-23, 22:12-23:5. Harris and two of his coworkers, Latrice Booker and Charin Sturgis, were alerted when a member of the scheme went to fill a prescription. Har[522]*522ris Test. Tr. 20:17-21:18, 22:12-25:11. When a pharmacist called the office to verify the prescription, Harris, Booker, or Sturgis confirmed that the prescription was valid, allowing the fraudulent prescriptions to be filled for oxycodone tablets. Id. Although they were additional coconspirators, Stur-gis and Booker were not named in the 2015 Superseding Indictment.4

On March 17, 2016, after an eight-day trial, the jury returned a guilty verdict against Jones on all charges.

c. Jones-Shuford Case (2016 Indictment)

On February 3, 2016, before the trial in the Jones-Dwyer case began, the same Assistant United States Attorney (“AUSA”) procured a second, sealed indictment (the “2016 Indictment”) against Jones from a grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The 2016 Indictment again charged Jones, this time with Shaun Shuford as codefendant (the “Jones-Shuford” case), with one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. According to the 2016 Indictment, this second conspiracy operated from on or about March 26, 2010 until on or about November 16, 2011. The 2016 Indictment also charged Jones with thirty-four counts of possession of oxyco-done with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
196 F. Supp. 3d 518, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94360, 2016 WL 3940888, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-jones-paed-2016.