Two Beckley Area Men Sentenced For Forging Prescriptions To Obtain Oxycodone

Defendant Caught with Hydrocodone, Cash and Stolen Firearms

BECKLEY, W.Va. – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Raymond Duncan, age 31, of Bud, West Virginia, and Jeremy Blankenship, age 38, of Crab Orchard, West Virginia, were sentenced today in federal court in Beckley, West Virginia.  In January of 2014, Duncan plead guilty to obtaining oxycodone by fraud, and Blankenship plead guilty to attempting to obtain oxycodone by fraud. Both men forged prescriptions for oxycodone on stolen prescription pads and presented them to Beckley area pharmacies to be filled.  Duncan was successful in illegally obtaining oxycodone, but Blankenship was arrested during his attempt to get the forged prescription filled. In today’s court hearing, United States District Judge Irene C. Berger sentenced Duncan to ten months’ imprisonment and Blankenship to three years of probation.

The case was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. 

This case was 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 and heroin.  The United States 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 and heroin.