2 opioid dealers conspired with a Tri-Cities doctor. Now they’re going to prison
Two Prosser drug dealers have been sentenced to federal prison for conspiring with a Richland doctor to operate an opioid drug ring.
David Barnes Nay, 42, and Lisa Marie Cooper, 55, distributed the opioid medications to other people or kept the drugs to feed their own addictions.
Nay and Cooper are two of the defendants who colluded with then-Dr. Janet S. Arnold of Desert Wind Family Practice, operator of the so-called “pill mill.”
Arnold — who has since lost her medical license — gave blank, but pre-signed prescription forms to her office manager, instead of taking the time herself to review patients’ records and meet with them at her Wellsian Way office.
Patients who desired highly addictive pain pills and patches and other medications had the option to pay $20 for a prescription without an appointment, or $80 to $120 if they wanted to see the doctor first.
Nay pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute eight controlled substances, and six counts of distributing fentanyl and oxycodone.
And he was sentenced recently in Richland’s U.S. District Court to 6 1/2 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
Cooper was sentenced Friday by Senior Judge Ed Shea to two years in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess and two counts of distributing controlled substances. Once released from prison, she will be on supervision for 10 years.
Court documents show that between March 2016 and May 2017, about 487 “prescriptions” with Dr. Arnold’s signature and DEA registration number were issued and filled.
The prescriptions distributing about 2,000 fentanyl patches; 27,000 oxycodone pills; 6,600 methadone pills; 2,000 hydromorphone pills; 600 oxymorphone pills; 1,700 methylphenidate pills; 2,000 amphetamine mixture pills; and 7,000 carisoprodol pills.
Doctor guilty plea
Arnold, 63, pleaded guilty this summer to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances “outside the usual course of (her) professional practice.”
She told Judge Shea that she had no legitimate medical reason for allowing office manager Danielle C. Mata full control over her prescription pad, and signed the blank forms not knowing who would get the drugs.
Mata filled out each prescription with the patient’s name, drug type, dosage and quantity.
Mata, Prichard, Nay and Cooper then gave the illegal prescriptions to people or used them personally to get their drug of choice from area pharmacies.
Arnold’s practice was raided by DEA agents in May 2017.
She had been a doctor since 1998 when her medical license was suspended, then revoked the following March.
Arnold was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2018. She faces a maximum of 20 years in prison at her Dec. 7 sentencing.
Mata, 44, Richland, and Jennifer C. Prichard, 46, Prosser previously pleaded guilty to similar charges in the conspiracy.
Both of them are set for sentencing on Dec. 14.
After Nay’s sentencing hearing, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref for the Eastern District of Washington said in a news release that her office — along with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners — are working tirelessly to combat the opioid epidemic in the community.
“The sentence imposed sends a stern warning to those who may seek to illegally distribute fentanyl and other prescription medications that they will face significant consequences,” said Waldref.
“I commend the diligent work of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, agents who investigated this case.”
This story was originally published November 1, 2021 at 11:38 AM.