19 Oct District Attorney Matt Ballard Enlists Doctors and Pharmacists in the Fight against Prescription Drug Abuse
In the News
KOTV Claremore Daily Progress KTUL
District Attorney Matt Ballard, District 12 announces the launch of an initiative across the district to target crimes involving prescription drug abuse. Beginning Monday October 19, 2015 training is being offered to doctors and pharmacists: Laws, Regulations and Trends Regarding Drug Diversion.
This is a prevalent and serious problem in the district which includes Craig, Mayes and Rogers counties and surrounding communities. Last month six people in Mayes County were indicted for murder and conspiracy in a case centered around prescription drugs. *
First Assistant District Attorney Brian Surber will deliver the accredited training. Brian is a former OBN Special Agent and served as General Counsel for the agency.
Topics Covered:
- OBN and DEA Rules Regarding Controlled Dangerous Substances
- Navigating OBN’s Prescription Monitoring Program
- Identifying Drug Seekers
- The Application of HIPAA to CDS Records
*Six People Indicted: District Attorney Announces Charges of First Degree Murder and Conspiracy
September 2, 2015 — This morning members of law enforcement from nine agencies conducted a coordinated operation to simultaneously arrest six people for murder and conspiracy in Mayes County. District Attorney Matt Ballard’s office and Pryor Police Department Detectives presented the case to the Attorney General’s multi-county grand jury which handed up indictments.
Members of Mayes County District Attorney Matt Ballard’s team joined members of law enforcement from Pryor Police Department, Mayes County Sheriff’s Department, U.S. Marshals, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, ATF, Chouteau Police Department, GRDA and Grove Police Department.
Those arrested are all tied to the illegal sale of prescription drugs which resulted in a woman’s death on October 25, 2014.
Pryor Police Detectives James Willyard, Chuck Ward and Michael Moore conducted the investigation into the murder of 38-year-old Jennifer McNulty of Pryor. Revealing she died after taking four, 80mg, tablets of oxycodone she got through a network of people, including her son, all conspiring to sell the prescription medications.
Pryor Police Chief Steven Lemmings says “My detectives conducted a ten month investigation into this intricate web of defendants who were all part of a drug distribution enterprise that involved Oxycodone, Fentanyl, Xanax and Morphine. People need to realize giving or selling prescription drugs to someone other than the person the drugs were prescribed for is a felony and makes them responsible for what happens; in this case the death of a woman and that’s murder.”
Those arrested and facing murder and conspiracy charges:
Aaron McNulty, Michael Miers, Jennifer McCormack, Andrea Gregoire, Christina Dempsey and Vito Farvussa. (full names and dates of birth at the end of this release)
At the time of this morning’s arrests Gregoire was already locked up in the Rogers County Jail facing a charge of child neglect in a separate case. (CF-2015-192) An investigation shows Gregoire delivered her baby five weeks premature, in withdrawal and subsequently the newborn tested positive for amphetamines/methamphetamines, Morphine, Hydromorphone, Oxycodone and Tramadol.
District Attorney Ballard says “This was a lengthy and complicated investigation. These six people will be prosecuted in Mayes County for murder and conspiracy following indictments handed up by the Attorney General’s multicounty grand jury August 27, 2015. The deadly problem of prescription drug abuse is far bigger than most people realize and it is one our office will target in partnership with law enforcement going forward.”
While people can tend to view prescription drugs as less dangerous than illicit drugs in fact; in Oklahoma more overdose deaths involved hydrocodone than methamphetamines, heroin, and cocaine combined. Oklahoma has the sixth highest unintentional drug overdose rate in the United States.
The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse reports four out of five unintentional poisoning deaths involved at least one prescription drug. Of those deaths nearly 90% were related to prescription painkillers.
Because of the prevalence and seriousness of prescription drug abuse DA Ballard will announce an initiative in the coming weeks to target such crimes. It will be launched across Prosecutorial District 12; Craig, Mayes and Rogers Counties.
Aaron Jacob “Ayjay” McNulty DOB: 8/14/97
Michael Allen Miers DOB: 10/2/87
Jennifer Elizabeth McCormack DOB: 4/23/81
Andrea Roberta Mae Gregoire DOB: 1/16/86
Christina Ann Dempsey DOB: 12/27/78
Vito Farvussa DOB 12/26/79
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