Published Friday, July 25, 2008

Around 3,700 pills confiscated

The Times-Herald

Almost 3,700 pills -- generally prescribed for everything from pain and insomnia to obesity and depression -- were seized from a local woman's residence Thursday after Newnan police discovered the ex-corrections officer was selling medication for profit.

"It's one of the largest amounts we've run into," said Detective Sgt. Danny McDonald, head of the department's recently-formed City Drug Unit. Authorities said more than 50 bottles of pills were confiscated from 35-year-old Karen Suzanne McDowell's Pinewood Villas apartment, located near the Coweta County Sheriff's Office on Greison Trail.

An additional 42 pill bottles were left behind when McDowell insisted she needed them on a daily basis for medical issues, while almost 350 empty containers were found stacked in cabinets inside the house. Drug varieties ranged from Hydrocodone and Soma to Adipex and Wellbutrin, to name a few.

According to Investigator Jody Stanford, an informant tip led to McDowell's arrest for selling schedule II narcotics. A calendar found on the scene showed the suspect had been making several appointments with different doctors each day for months.

Stanford said a duffel bag full of medication was found on the couch beside the offender at the time a search warrant was executed. McDowell -- reportedly a notary public and certified substitute teacher with a bachelor's degree in criminology -- was currently on disability leave from work, he said.

McDowell's 15-year-old daughter, the only other occupant of the home, is now with family members, according to police.

The City Drug Unit is still looking into the case, McDonald said, and an agent from the Georgia Drugs & Narcotics Agency -- an organization that oversees doctors and pharmacists -- is expected to investigate sometime next week.

The new unit, which formed at the end of May, primarily handles street-level drug arrests, according to Newnan Police Chief Douglas L. "Buster" Meadows. Since its inception, the group of four city officers has made 31 arrests, 90 percent of which were felony drug busts.

Meadows said the City Drug Unit works in conjunction with the Crime Suppression Unit, which is a joint effort between city and county officers aimed at eliminating upper-echelon suppliers. "We're trying to attack the problem from both ends," he said. "We're going to be aggressive with these dealers. Most crimes relate back to drugs."

Anyone with any information on drug-related activity may contact the City Drug Unit on the newly-established tip line at 770-254-2350. Callers may remain anonymous.