Hogsett Announces Evansville Woman Sentenced in Tri-State Pharmacy Burglary and Drug Distribution Conspiracies

EVANSVILLE, IN—Joseph H. Hogsett, United States Attorney, announced today the sentencing of Melissa Maynard in United States District Court in Evansville for charges stemming from a series of 2010 tri-state pharmacy burglaries and the subsequent distribution of stolen narcotics. Maynard, 29, of Evansville, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Richard L. Young to 12 months in prison on each of two counts to be served concurrently, for her role in the related drug distribution/pharmacy burglary conspiracies.

The federal charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Evansville/Vanderburgh County Joint Drug Task Force, and other area state and local law enforcement agencies, into a series of pharmacy burglaries occurring in Southern Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. Maynard and her co-defendant, John Feldman, committed the burglaries, typically targeting small, locally owned pharmacies, and focusing on the theft of Oxycontin and Lortab tablets. Over the course of the criminal activities, Maynard and Feldman were responsible for the burglary or attempted burglary of 13 pharmacies in Evansville, Poseyville, Mount Vernon, New Harmony, Chandler, and Haubstadt, Ind.; Hanson and Dawson Springs, Ky.; and Marion, Carmi, and Grayville, Ill. The burglaries involved the theft of over 27,000 tablets of various prescription medications, most of which containing the extremely powerful and heavily abused narcotic painkillers Oxycodone and Hydrocodone. The dollar losses sustained by the pharmacies were in excess of $25,000. Feldman and Maynard found a market for the stolen drugs in the Evansville area, distributing them to customers in and around the city.

Prescription drugs are only safe for the individuals for whom the drugs were prescribed. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that prescription drug abuse is on the rise, with 20 percent of teens saying they have taken a prescription drug without a doctor’s order. They can be easier to get than street drugs, but sometimes sold on the street like other illegal drugs. They can be just as dangerous and addictive as street drugs. Hogsett said, “Prescription drugs are rapidly challenging marijuana as the drug of choice for our youth. Using legal drugs in illegal ways is still a crime. Young adults are appearing in emergency rooms too frequently for treatment related to prescription drug abuse.”

In addition to the prison term, Judge Young also imposed a term of three years’ supervised release upon the defendant following the completion of her sentence. Maynard was also ordered to make restitution to the victim pharmacies as a condition of supervised release. Feldman, Maynard’s co-defendant, was previously sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Young, on March 8, 2011, to seven years’ imprisonment, followed by three years’ supervised release.