Today's Sun-Sentinel (July 28, 2010) features a story about an undercover
buy of oxycodone pills from a school teaching in Indian River County.
"An Indian River County School District teacher is out of jail on
$150,000 bail after being charged [with] drug trafficking, a Vero Beach
Police report states. Raquel Wright, 36, of the 4600 block of 43rd Court,
is charged with trafficking oxycodone after selling prescription drugs
to an undercover police officer.
About 6:30 p.m. Friday, Wright sold 70 oxycodone pills to an undercover
police officer for $1,000, the arrest report states.
Records showed Wright employed as a middle school language arts teacher
at Oslo Middle School."
Sun-Sentinel, July 28, 2010.
While trafficking in any substance depends on the weight of the substance,
I can assure you that 70 pills more than likely meets the trafficking standard.
With the substance oxycodone (also known by its trade name, OxyContin),
4 grams or more constitutes trafficking.
As a
Miami-Dade County criminal defense attorney who defends clients charged with prescription drug trafficking, I can
attest to the fact that prescription drug trafficking, especially oxycodone,
is treated more seriously than most violent felonies by the State of Florida.
In fact, if you are in possession (remember, trafficking can be simple
possession provided the weight meets the statutory threshold) of 28 grams
of oxycodone or more, you face a mandatory 25-year prison sentence that
only the State Attorney's Office can waive.
Compare that to the crime of attempted murder with a firearm. In that case,
you only face a mandatory 10-year prison sentence.
Which is worse? Trying to kill somebody or having some pills in your pocket?
You can see the skewed logic of our elected officials up in Tallahassee.
Apparently, possessing painkillers is far worse than trying to violently
take somebody's life.
For that reason, oxycodone trafficking cases are some of the most serious
cases a criminal defense lawyer can handle. Even more serious than many
robbery and murder cases.
As you can see by the article above, the teacher's bond was $150,000.
And she was likely a first-time offender! That should show you
how high bonds are in drug trafficking cases.
If you or somebody you know has been arrested and charged with trafficking
in prescription drugs,
call me.