The Times-Tribune
CORBIN — By Adam S. Sulfridge / Staff Writer
The prescription pill pipeline leading from Florida’s pain clinics has apparently spawned a new form of illegal activity.
According to Public Affairs Officer Shawn Jackson of the Williamsburg Police Department, a Williamsburg woman was arrested Wednesday morning while trying to exchange sexual favors for prescription pills.
Around 7 a.m. Wednesday, Sgt. Mike Taylor and Officer Jason Strunk responded to a complaint about possible shoplifters at the Pilot Travel Center in Williamsburg. Jackson said that when the two officers arrived, a male subject went “straight to a vehicle and attempted to leave the scene.”
Sgt. Taylor then decided to follow the vehicle and observe for further signs of suspicious behavior. While following the vehicle, Taylor noted that the driver and passenger attempted to change seats while the car was in motion.
A statement from the Williamsburg Police Department read, “Through the investigation, Sgt. Taylor determined that the two in the vehicle, from Ohio, had been to a pain clinic in Tampa, Florida.” Keith Weinrich, 24, of Greenfield, Ohio was charged with DUI and reckless driving and possession of drug paraphernalia. Elizabeth A. Cross, 23, also of Greenfield, was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, public intoxication, and possession of a controlled substance not in its original container. Both Weinrich and Cross were charged with reckless driving, changing drivers.
It was also determined that the man and woman were waiting on another man who had left Pilot with an unnamed woman. According to Jackson, Taylor located the vehicle containing the unnamed woman and other male subject. Jackson stated Taylor determined the woman from Williamsburg approached the man and “made an agreement.”
“It is believed the female had approached and propositioned the male subject in Pilot parking lot in exchange for narcotics,” Jackson wrote. “The female made a statement to Officer Strunk that her and a group of girls had been ‘working the truck stop.’”
The Williamsburg woman, Kristy N. Mefford, was charged with DUI. Shawn Simmons, 29, also of Greenfield, was charged with public intoxication and third-degree trafficking a controlled substance.
Sgt. Taylor is continuing the investigation and authorities say “other arrests are possible.”
