Both accused of calling in false prescriptions

 

A South Point woman answered charges Wednesday that she impersonated a nurse to call in prescription medications in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court.

Brea Sifford, 33, of 1299 Township Road 616, was arraigned on six felony counts of deception to obtain dangerous drugs. She pleaded not guilty through her attorney, Luke Styer.

According to the indictment, Sifford posed as a King’s Daughters Urgent Care nurse to call in prescriptions for alprazolam at McMeans Pharmacy.

Styer asked Judge Charles Cooper to consider an own recognizance bond with GPS monitoring so Sifford could seek intensive daily outpatient drug treatment and possibly be admitted to the Linda Center.

Cooper took Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Brigham Anderson’s recommendation for a $25,000 cash or surety bond and scheduled a pretrial for June 13.

A Chesapeake woman changed her plea in a similar case.

In exchange for a plea of guilty, Sharon Black (aka Sharon Harvey), 38, of 35 Township Road 1007, would have 32 of her 35 deception to obtain a dangerous drug charges dropped.

Black pleaded guilty, through her attorney Scott Evans, to three counts, which included deception to obtain a total of 960 hydrocodone tablets and 390 Ambien tablets by impersonating a nurse at Sunset Nursing Center. Anderson said she was employed at the center at that time, but was not a nurse, and the prescriptions were called in over the phone.

Cooper set sentencing for June 13 until a pre-sentencing investigation could be completed.

In other cases:

• Gary Willis, 40, of 450 Township Road 116, Kitts Hill, pleaded guilty to one count of fifth-degree theft from Tractor Supply Company.

Cooper sentenced Willis to six months in prison and ordered him to pay $1,719.21 in restitution.

Willis was represented by attorney Philip Heald.

• John DeBelle, 27, of 618 S. Fifth St., Ironton, pleaded guilty to violating a protection order. Another count of burglary was dropped.

Cooper sentenced DeBelle to six months in prison.

“I appreciate the fairness and I appreciate the opportunity to amend the charges,” DeBelle said.

DeBelle was represented by attorney Mike Gleichauf.

• B. Douglas Martin, 35, of 95 Private Drive 1552, South Point, tested positive for drugs at his pretrial hearing.

Adult Probation Officer Lynne Stewart said Martin tested positive for oxycodone, benzodiazepines and marijuana and did not produce prescriptions.

Cooper doubled Martin’s bond from $5,000 to $10,000.