Two Dallas Women Sentenced in Opioid Prescription Drug Distribution Conspiracy

DALLAS — Glenda Cane, 47, and Shalisa Robinson, 31, both of Houston, Texas, have been sentenced for their role in a pill mill operation that operated during parts of 2013-2015, announced United States Attorney John R. Parker.

Cane and Robinson were sentenced last week to 18 months each in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater, following their guilty pleas in July 2016. Cane pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful use of a communication device. Robinson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Judge Fitzwater ordered Cane to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on June 13, 2017. Robinson is ordered to surrender on June 6, 2017.

In March 2015, a federal grand jury in Dallas indicted 23 individuals, including Cane and Robinson, on offenses related to their participation in a prescription drug distribution conspiracy. In 2016, an additional 7 individuals were charged in superseding indictments. That indictment alleged that from at least May 2013 through July 2014, the defendants participated in a scheme to illicitly obtain prescriptions for pain medications, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, and then distribute those controlled substances for profit. As part of the conspiracy, individuals, often homeless or of limited means, were recruited and paid to pose as patients at medical clinics, including the McAllen Medical Clinic in Dallas, to obtain prescriptions to fill those prescriptions at designated pharmacies.

According to documents filed in the Cane case, on February 14, 2014, Cane informed co-conspirator and supplier Cornelius Robinson that a customer wanted to purchase 30mg oxycodone pills and 10mg hydrocodone pills from her. Cane asks Robinson what price to charge for the hydrocodone, and Robinson tells Cane to sell the hydrocodone for $4.50 per pill.

According to documents filed in the Robinson case, on May 24, 2013, she and co-conspirator Cornelius Robinson came to Dallas, Texas, to pick up oxycodone and a rental car. Shalisa and Cornelius Robinson drove to Louisiana to distribute the oxycodone they had picked up in Dallas. On May 25, 2013, in St. Martin’s Parish, Louisiana, Shalisa Robinson possessed approximately 1,543 oxycodone pills consisting of 1,161 30mg oxycodone pills and 382 15mg oxycodone pills that she and Cornelius Robinson intended to distribute to customers in Louisiana.

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service, Texas Department of Public Safety, the Louisiana State Police, the Grand Prairie Police Department, the Dallas Police Department, the Houston Police Department, the Arlington Police Department, the Greenville Police Department, the Parker County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Diplomatic Security Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Walters prosecuted.

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