May 24, 2012
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A man and woman are in jail after West Virginia State Police say they used a doctor's DEA number over the past two days to pick up several thousand dollars worth of prescription pills from pharmacies in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia.
Mekell Welcome, 29, of Charleston, and Corey Smarr, 40, of South Charleston, were arrested on Monday.
Troopers say several pharmacies noticed there had been unusual activity for that DEA number, so they called the doctor's office and found out those prescriptions hadn't been authorized.
Monday, the Walmart in Barboursville called State Police and told them a woman was in line to pick up another fraudulent prescription. Troopers showed up and arrested Welcome just after she picked them up.
"It was pretty fortunate we were able to get up there in time without them catching on and actually catch them in the act of getting a prescription," Trooper S.N. Swope said.
They then arrested Smarr in the Walmart parking lot where he was waiting for her in a car.
Troopers say he had been driving Welcome from Nitro to Ashland to pickup prescriptions.
Welcome was charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, transportation of a controlled substance and two counts of prescription fraud.
Smarr is charged with two counts of felony possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, felony conspiracy and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.
"Of course I have regrets about what I've done,” Welcome said. “I made a mistake, a very big mistake.”
Welcome said she committed the crimes to treat her post-traumatic stress disorder from being sexually abused.
The pair was arraigned Monday evening in Cabell County Magistrate Court. Both remain in the Western Regional Jail.
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