Theft, resale of Viagra draws term of 6 months

The Baltimore Sun

After an Air Force base in Maryland stopped ordering Viagra in 2005, Lawrence Williams spotted an opportunity.

The former civilian employee at Andrews Air Force Base continued to order the drug used for erectile dysfunction on behalf of the military and resold the pills for personal profit. In Greenbelt, U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow on Monday sentenced Williams, 48, of District Heights, to six months in prison, followed by five months of electronic home monitoring and three years of supervised release for stealing at least 100 bottles of Viagra from the military. The judge also ordered Williams to pay $46,848.60 in restitution.

According to his guilty plea, Williams worked as a medical logistics specialist at Andrews, beginning in 2000, placing orders for and distributing supplies of prescription drugs to the base's medical facilities.

In June 2005, Viagra was removed from the base-approved prescription drug list. But Williams used his position for the next year to order bottles of Viagra on behalf of the Air Force, which he resold. Each 100-pill bottle of Viagra cost the Air Force $551.16 in 2005 and $581.06 in 2006.

On July 13, 2006, authorities learned that Williams had concealed 15 bottles of Viagra in his car and was attempting to leave the base. Williams was arrested and the drugs recovered. Williams admitted to stealing at least 100 bottles of Viagra, and smaller amounts of the prescription drug Levitra, also for erectile dysfunction.

Matthew Dolan

Anne Arundel

: Jessup

Inmate found stabbed at prison

An inmate at a prison in Jessup was hospitalized in Baltimore after he was found stabbed yesterday evening, a state Division of Correction spokeswoman said.

Correctional officers discovered the injured inmate in a housing unit of the Maryland Correctional Institution - Jessup about 6 p.m. while prisoners were returning from their evening meal, said corrections spokeswoman Maj. Priscilla Doggett. The inmate had been assaulted with an improvised weapon, she said.

The man was taken by ambulance to University of Maryland Medical Center for treatment of puncture wounds, Doggett said. The institution is locked down, and the incident is under investigation, she said.

Howard County

: Columbia

Two thefts at fair; 1 may be hate crime

Howard County police are investigating whether to classify the theft of a large banner advertising the name PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) that was ripped from the back of the group's booth at the Columbia City Fair last weekend as a hate-bias crime.

Sherry Llewellyn, a spokeswoman for the Police Department, said yesterday designer clothing and jewelry worth about $300 were taken from another booth at the fair, but officers are re-examining the circumstances of the two incidents.

"This is not uncommon to go back and do a more thorough evaluation," she said.

Steve Charing, a spokesman for the Columbia nonprofit group, said PFLAG considers the banner's theft an expression of hostility because "the banner had absolutely no value to anybody else."

Larry Carson

Carroll County

: Hampstead

Propane-fueled fire destroys a home

A fire fueled by two propane tanks destroyed a Hampstead home yesterday afternoon, causing $150,000 in damage, according to the state fire marshal's office.

The blaze in the 2500 block of Fairmount Road was reported to the Hampstead Volunteer Fire Company just after 2:30 p.m., and was contained about 3:45 p.m. authorities said. No one was hurt.

Laura McCandlish

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