Manassas Journal Messenger | Police unearth narcotics ring

More than a dozen bogus prescriptions were written on a pad stolen by a nurse from a Manassas doctor’s office, an unnamed source told a Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office detective.

Detective D.E. Thodos protected the unnamed source — a member of the drug subculture who admitted to forging prescriptions for OxyContin and Percocet — because that person is afraid of the suspect, according to court records. The suspect is a Manassas woman who lives with her parents.

OxyContin is an opium-derived pain reliever that is as addictive as heroin and provides a similar rush, experts say. Percocet, a Tylenol and Oxycodone combination, is an opiate also manufactured as a pain killer.

Both drugs can be habit-forming, addiction treatment center literature states.

The name of the suspect identified in the warrant has been withheld by the Potomac News and Manassas Journal Messenger because she has not yet been charged.

The investigation began when a Spotsylvania County CVS pharmacist told investigators they had a prescription fraud case. A pharmacist identified the unnamed source to a patrol officer who responded.

Calls to Thodos were not immediately returned Tuesday afternoon.

The source told investigators of a nine-month-long scam that started when the suspect stole a prescription pad from the Manassas internist/nephrologist for whom she worked. A nephrologist is a kidney specialist. An office receptionist said the nurse quit about six months ago.

It was unclear Tuesday whether the source is a Spotsylvania CVS employee.

With the cooperation of the unnamed source, police monitored a telephone conversation with the suspect, during which the two spoke about filling more prescriptions. The suspect told the source she had more prescriptions available, records show.

The affidavit was submitted for a warrant to search the suspect’s Mazda, where Thodos claims the drugs were hidden. It is typical, police say, for drug traffickers to keep items hidden in their cars.

In this case, the drugs were hidden so the suspect’s parents would not find them, the affidavit states.