The grim lights of justice shone on the owner of a South Seattle non-profit ‘club’ that masqueraded as a safe haven for Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, as Michael Martin Shepard, 64, was arrested last night for the illegal distribution of oxycodone, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.
The investigation, sparked by the Seattle Police Department, peeled back the layers of the Nomadian Community Resource Center (NCRC) on South Orcas Street in Seattle to reveal a hub for prescription drug dealing. Shepard, the NCRC’s alleged mastermind, was apprehended without incident and is set to appear today at 2:30 p.m. in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
According to the criminal complaint filed in the case, a concerned citizen first flagged illegal drug sales at the NCRC back in November 2012. The complaint accuses Shepard of selling drugs exclusively to ‘members’ of the NCRC as a ploy to dodge law enforcement scrutiny. On five separate occasions between January and February 2013, Shepard sold prescription drugs to an undercover operative working with law enforcement. Undercover officers from both the Seattle Police Department and DEA were present during some of these transactions.
Further investigation unearthed that Shepard was procuring pills by purchasing prescriptions from individuals who had been legally prescribed the medication. The illegal sales were conducted both before and after the NCRC hosted Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for addicts and alcoholics.
The Seattle Police Department and DEA swooped in to take Shepard into custody, seizing numerous prescription narcotics and two firearms from the NCRC.
Shepard now faces up to 20 years imprisonment and a $1 million fine for the distribution of oxycodone. The charges against him are mere allegations, and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The case is being prosecuted by Executive Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Bates.
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Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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