Published: November 07, 2008 12:50 pm      

Alleged drug ring: six to plead guilty

Four Morehead men, one Carter County woman and a Florida doctor have opted to change their plea from not guilty to guilty in the alleged drug conspiracy ring involving eight other defendants.

All 14 are accused of distributing the controlled substance oxycodone out of Florida and into several eastern Kentucky counties, including Rowan, Carter, Elliott and Boyd.

Drew Evans Lane Jr., Seth Clay, James Clay, Nick Sorrell, all of Morehead, along with Rhonda Renee Burchett, and Dr. Roger Browne, will appear for re-arraignments Nov. 13 in U.S. District Court in Ashland.

The six have executed plea agreements with the government and are prepared to enter pleas consistent with the terms of the agreements, according to federal court dockets.

Browne allegedly prescribed oxycodone to more than 500 Kentucky residents, who then carried the pills back to the Bluegrass to sell between January 2007 and Jan. 10, 2008.

Lane and Burchett are accused are being Browne’s accomplices in the alleged drug trafficking scheme, with Lane being named as the “middle man,” while financing trips and paying to have prescriptions filled. Burchett also is named as a key figure when she was in charge of recruiting patients and scheduling appointments.

The others accused in the case are Janie L. Simmons, Herbert Eugene Lindon, Charles Gibson Ryland, Jason Todd Marshall, Pearl Sue Drake, Donald R. Melton, Kevin W. Burton and Charles Darren Withrow.

Browne practiced at Americare Health and Rehabilitation in Coral Springs, Fla. The close to 500 Kentucky medical files were discovered when a search warrant was carried out April 14 at Browne’s place of business.

During a detention hearing April 21, government officials presented evidence that a CI (confidential informant), recruited as a patient by Burchett, had been receiving oxycodone from Browne. The CI also told officials he sent 15 to 20 other people to see Browne in order to also receive prescription drugs.

The CI told the court he then delivered the collected oxycodone pills to Lane, who distributed the oxycodone to others in Kentucky.

The CI further explained that when those people returned to Kentucky, Lane took half of the oxycodone pills and allowed them to retain the other half.

Further information obtained through court dockets states, a motion to amend detention order was granted Sept. 26 on behalf of James Clay, who was released into the custody of his mother Della Clay and James Damron, and transported to an inpatient treatment facility in Corbin, as designated by pretrial services. Upon completion of treatment, Clay was ordered to return to custody of the U.S. Marshals.

A jury trial expecting to last two weeks for the other eight defendants is set for Dec. 8 in U.S. District Court in Ashland.