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Press Release

Detroit Man Admits To Selling Prescription Painkillers In Charleston

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of West Virginia


CHARLESTON, W.Va. – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin today announced that a Detroit man pleaded guilty to distribution of oxymorphone, also known as “Opana.”  Delbert Lapsley, 48, pleaded guilty in federal court in Charleston.  Lapsley admitted to that on August 2, 2011, he illegally sold Opana at or near Charleston. 

Lapsley faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine when he is sentenced on June 12, 2013 by United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. 

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Monica Coleman is in charge of the prosecution. 

This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District. 

Updated January 7, 2015