Jury indicts 11 in Phoenix opioid ring; 4 suspects remain at large

PHOENIX — A jury indicted 11 people who were allegedly part of a Phoenix opioid ring, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday.

According to a press release, the suspects are accused of stealing nurse practitioners’ and doctors’ IDs and writing fake prescriptions.

Six of the suspects have been arrested, while four are still wanted by police. The 11th suspect was served with the indictment.

The attorney’s office received a complaint in March 2018 from a nurse practitioner who believed his information had been used to write fake Oxycodone prescriptions.

During the investigation, David Bektashi and Emily Richardson were allegedly found in possession of fake prescriptions from 16 medical professionals.

The investigation reportedly found that the pair used the prescriptions in at least 36 transactions.

The attorney’s office did not specify how the other suspects were involved in the ring.

The group faces 125 felony counts, including fraudulent schemes, forgery, participating in a criminal syndicate and possession of dangerous drugs.

Those arrested were Bektashi, Richardson, Julie Adams, Cynthia Murphy, Bryan Kaminskas and Michael Taflinger, while Anthony Harms was served with the indictment.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the four wanted suspects — Jeannine Gomez, Latisha Stennis, De’Aundray Frazier and Patrick Harget — was asked to call 602-542-0381.

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