Three Charged in Oxycodone Death Conspiracy

Three Oklahoma residents are facing federal charges in connection with a deadly oxycodone distribution ring that led to a fatal overdose in 2014. Jennifer Elizabeth Boyce, 36, of Pryor, Michael Allen Miers, 30, of Pryor, and Christina Ann Dempsey, 39, of Chouteau, were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of Conspiracy to Distribute Oxycodone Resulting in Death and Distribution of Oxycodone Resulting in Death, announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores.

The indictment traces the conspiracy from March 2014 to February 2015, during which time Dempsey allegedly supplied Boyce with 80mg timed-release oxycodone pills—commonly known as ‘Oxy80s.’ Boyce and Miers then operated as partners, selling the powerful opioids to users across the area. The network ran like a shadow pharmacy, dealing in painkillers that carried lethal consequences.

On October 24, 2014, Miers handed off Boyce’s name and cell phone number to a buyer seeking pills for a ‘friend.’ Text messages show Boyce negotiating the sale of four Oxy80s. The pills changed hands at Boyce’s residence. By the next day, 34-year-old Jennifer Blake McNulty was dead—autopsy results confirming acute oxycodone intoxication as the cause.

That single transaction is now at the center of a federal prosecution aiming to hold dealers accountable for the deadly fallout of the opioid crisis. ‘The loss of life due to an opioid overdose is tragic and unacceptable,’ said Shores. ‘The United States Attorney’s Office will use every tool at its disposal to combat the illegal distribution and use of opioids.’

The case reflects a national emergency. As Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein noted, overdose deaths have skyrocketed—from roughly 8,000 in 1990 to an estimated 64,000 in 2016. More Americans died from drug overdoses that year than were killed in combat during the entire Vietnam War. Today, drug overdose is the leading cause of death for Americans under 50.

The prosecution is led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Faerber, with investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Pryor Police Department, and the Mayes County District Attorney’s Office. The indictment is not a conviction—each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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