One million oxycodone and hydrocodone tablets were illegally distributed by a Texas drugstore owner, according to court documents.
According to the United States Department of Justice, a co-owner of several Texas pharmacies, including two in the Austin area, was found guilty Monday by a federal jury of illegally distributing more than 1.5 million doses of controlled substances, including over 1.1 million oxycodone and hydrocodone pills, over a period of several years.
Clint Carr, 32, of Cypress, Texas, was arrested and charged with murder in June 2018. A second defendant, Dustin Curry, and Carr were co-owners of CC Pharmacy stores in Houston, Austin, and Round Rock, Texas.
In an investigation by the Department of Justice, federal officials claim Carr and a co-conspirator illegally supplied dangerous prescription opioids in bulk for cash “on the basis of primarily falsified or stolen prescriptions carried in by drug couriers acting as personnel at long-term care facilities.”
“CC Pharmacy generated over $5.5 million in revenue from the illegal sale of these banned narcotics,” the Department of Justice stated in a statement. “According to the evidence shown at trial, Carr used the drug revenues to finance a luxury lifestyle, including the down payment on a $100,000 Ford pickup truck.”
Carr was found guilty of all eight charges by the jury. A federal grand jury found him guilty on four counts of unlawfully distributing controlled substances, two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property obtained through criminal conduct and conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances, one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances, and one count of conspiracy to launder money, according to the Department of Justice.
According to court records, Carr has been freed from detention on a $250,000 bail pending his sentencing on May 27, which is scheduled for May 27. Carr could face up to 140 years in federal prison if convicted.
A spokesperson for Carr’s attorney, Michael Wynne, told KXAN on Wednesday that he did not have “any significant statements to give at this time.”
Oxycodone and hydrocodone are generic names for semi-synthetic opioids that are highly addictive and frequently used to treat pain. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they are two of the most regularly prescribed opioids that have been linked to overdose deaths in recent years.
In 2017, over 191 million opioid prescriptions were written in the United States, according to government data.
