The owner of two West Virginia pharmacies has agreed to pay $300,000 in civil penalties to settle allegations that they filled illegitimate prescriptions in violation of federal law.
Federal prosecutors said Beckley Pharmacy’s two locations and Bee Well Pharmacy in South Charleston filled prescriptions that were not for a legitimate medical purpose from 2015 to 2020.
Under the settlement announced Monday, Bee Well Pharmacy will be unable to fill prescriptions for controlled substances after agreeing to surrender its Drug Enforcement Administration registration. The Beckley locations will retain their registrations but must adhere to more stringent regulatory and reporting obligations, prosecutors said.
“Pharmacies must keep accurate records and maintain strong controls when handling controlled substances,” acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston said in a statement. ”Those that fail to do so open the door to the potential diversion of drugs, the illegal distribution, and abuse of these drugs.”
Dwayne Richardson, Jr., a junior at Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley was the recent victim of an accidental shooting death. Beckley Police say Richardson was killed Sunday by a 20 year old who was careless with an AR-15 rifle.
Now, heartache is ringing in the halls of Woodrow Wilson High School in Raleigh County as loved ones mourn the death of their friend.
“It’s been pretty bad, really, I ain’t going to lie,” longtime friend Josiah “JoJo” Harriston said. “It’s been a hard week for me. Especially every time I go into class. I had been just missing him in there with me, talking, cracking jokes, everything.”
Dwayne or Wayne as many of his friends called him, was well known in the region. Harriston met Wayne in the third grade. They played basketball together. He and many who knew Dwayne say he was a genial and good-natured person.
“Nobody could really get mad at him,” Harriston said. “It’s like, for him to die that way. It’s, it’s ridiculous to me.”
Beckley police confirmed that Richardson died in an accidental shooting. On late Wednesday afternoon they arrested Jeriamyah Jacob Fortner of Beckley. He’s accused of recklessly handling an AR-15 rifle and accidentally shooting Richardson. Fortner is charged with voluntary manslaughter and four counts of wanton endangerment.
“Nobody should die that way and Dwayne would be the last person I’d ever think would die that way,” Harriston said.
Sam Gray
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Josiah “Jojo” (left), Tauvea Davis, the late Dwayne Richardson Jr. and Keandre Sarver (right) in Beckley, WV.
Harriston said he was watching a movie when he heard the tragic news from his friend Rashad.
“Rashad called me and said, he was crying and stuff and was like Dwayne had got shot, and I was like, I was like, confused,” Harriston told West Virginia Public Broadcasting. “Right when he told me and I started believing that he got shot, I just broke down in tears. That was just off him getting shot.”
According to Lt. David Allard, Beckley police were responding to the report of a shooting when they were flagged down by a vehicle whose occupants were transporting Richardson to the hospital.
“They were friends, acquaintances that he had been with earlier in the day,” Allard said. “We have been speaking with them. We have went to the area where this has reported to have occurred.”
Allard, chief of detectives at the Beckley Police Department, says he also knew Richardson, but not because of his police work. Richardson was a talented athlete and star basketball player. Allard had watched him play in games over the years.
“So there’s the human element there that we don’t always have a connection with the victims,” Allard said. “Anytime you have a loss of life, it’s tragic. When you have someone at this age in your life, three weeks from graduation and state tournament this week in Charleston, it’s extremely tough to deal with and you can’t really set that aside.”
Woodrow Wilson sophomore Ella Rose met Richardson in middle school.
“He can make anyone laugh, it didn’t matter what mood they were in, he would say something, and the whole room would crack up,” Rose said. “Like it was, it was just something different. And I think everybody’s noticed that and everyone’s saying that. But that’s just really how it was.”
She and Harriston say people couldn’t help but like Richardson for his positive personality.
Sam Gray
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Dwayne Richardson Jr. Beckley, WV
“He had a great smile. He was so calm, you know? Anybody could get along with him. Really. He’s just just a great person in general,” she added.
Richardson’s former basketball coach Roy Blankenship says the skilled athlete made good grades, got along well with his teachers and coaches, and had a bright future ahead of him.
“Wayne was just one of those kids I told him if you keep working the way you’re working, keep your grades up, you’ll get a scholarship to play ball,” Blankenship said. “I knew he would get one and be able to go to college.”
In the coming weeks, as those close to Richardson look for ways to deal with his sudden, violent death, Rose hopes the nightmare of losing a friend won’t be worsened by divisions or conflict within the community.
“We really all just have to stay together because that’s all we really can do,” Rose said. “It’s going to do no one good at Woodrow to separate and to start all this drama.”
Former Governor Hulett Smith died in Arizona on January 15, 2012, at age 93. Born in Beckley, Smith was surrounded by business and politics during his youth. His father, Joe L. Smith, was a newspaper publisher, bank president, mayor of Beckley, state senator, congressman, and state Democratic Party chairman.
During the 1950s, Hulett Smith rose through the Democratic Party ranks but lost a primary campaign for governor against fellow Democrat Wally Barron in 1960. However, Governor Barron appointed Smith to head the new Department of Commerce, which promoted economic development and tourism. Smith was particularly proud of his department’s support for traditional arts and crafts.
Smith was elected governor in 1964. During his term, the legislature abolished the death penalty, passed new human rights legislation, increased teacher pay, and launched a three-year school improvement program. Smith also pushed for what was considered the strongest strip mining regulations in the country at the time. He believed conservation and recreation would become cornerstones of the state’s future.
After leaving office, Hulett Smith returned to Beckley and remained active in private business and civic matters for the rest of his life.
Actor Chris Sarandon Jr. was born in Beckley on July 24, 1942. He graduated from Beckley’s Woodrow Wilson High School and from West Virginia University with a degree in theater.
While earning his master’s degree from Catholic University, he met and married Susan Tomalin, who later became famous as actress Susan Sarandon. Since 1994, he’s been married to actress Joanna Hall Gleason.
Chris Sarandon has a lengthy screen and stage resume. His films include Fright Night, The Princess Bride, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, in which he voiced the lead character of Jack Skellington. In 1976, he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar and a Best Acting Debut Golden Globe Award for his memorable performance in the film Dog Day Afternoon, with Al Pacino. In 1980, Sarandon starred as Jesus Christ in the television movie The Day Christ Died. He’s also appeared on the TV shows Judging Amy, Felicity, and ER.
More recently, he’s been in a number of Broadway productions, including The Light in the Piazza and in Cyrano de Bergerac, along with West Virginia native Jennifer Garner.
On July 3, 1989, West Virginia’s 23rd Governor Okey Patteson died at age 90. As a child, the Mingo County native had moved with his family to Mount Hope in Fayette County, where he later sold cars and real estate.
Tragedy struck in 1932, when Patteson was 34. While bird hunting with his brother-in-law, Patteson leaned his loaded 12-gauge shotgun against his car, thinking the safety was on. When he slammed one of the car doors, the shotgun went off, shooting his feet from under him. Doctors in Beckley amputated both of Patteson’s legs below the knees and fitted him with artificial limbs. Within four months, he was walking again and driving his own car.
A Democrat, he was elected Fayette County sheriff, then managed Clarence Meadow’s successful gubernatorial campaign in 1944. Patteson became a key assistant to Governor Meadows, earning the nickname the “Great Persuader.”
Patteson succeeded Meadows as governor in 1949. During his four years in office, Okey Patteson broke ground for the West Virginia Turnpike, but he’s best remembered for his then-controversial decision to place West Virginia’s first medical school in Morgantown.
The West Virginia University-Institute of Technology in Beckley has announced its support for Mayor Rob Rappold’s request to add protections for LGBTQ people to the city’s code.
The Register-Herald reports the school’s dean of students, Richard Carpinelli, said Tuesday that the college supports all university members, regardless of sexual orientation.
Rappold asked the city’s Common Council Monday to consider an ordinance prohibiting housing and employment discrimination against those who identify as LGBTQ. A similar measure was proposed in 2014, but was tabled amid community opposition.
The current code aligns with federal law and prohibits housing and employment discrimination based on sex, race and religion.
Carpinelli says the school has a nondiscrimination policy, but he’d like to see everyone be welcome in the community, regardless of gender identification or sexual orientation
