Pharmacist

HAGERSTOWN -- A Washington County woman pleaded guilty Sept. 23 to a charge of obtaining a drug by fraud in connection with a fraudulent prescription presented at CVS/pharmacy on Dual Highway in June, according to court records. Elizabeth Kay Hurtman, 24, was sentenced to 18 months in jail, but Washington County District Judge Dana Moylan Wright suspended the sentence, according to court records. Hurtman, who was given three years probation, is to abstain from alcohol and abusive use of any drug, to submit to alcohol and drug testing, and to attend three self-help group meetings per week for 52 weeks, court records show.

A Hagerstown woman faces charges after police said she called a pharmacy and ordered a prescription for a patient who ultimately turned out to be her, according to court documents. Kelly Michelle Nally, 37, of 641 Knightsbridge Drive, was arraigned Tuesday in Berkeley County Magistrate Court on one felony count of unauthorized practice of medicine and a felony count of computer fraud, according to court documents.   The counterfeit prescription for Tramadol, a pain medication, was reported April 17 by a pharmacist at the Spring Mills (W.Va.)

A Fairplay man who stole a neighbor's van, unsuccessfully tried to rob a pharmacy and then was caught by the son of the van's owner was sentenced to five years in state prison after pleading guilty Thursday in Washington Circuit Court to attempted robbery. Bradley Steven Lapp, 43, formerly of 8617 Sharpsburg Pike, also pleaded guilty to fourth-degree burglary. In exchange for the plea, charges including theft, motor vehicle theft and assault were dismissed. On the morning of Oct. 13, 2012, Lapp entered the unlocked apartment of a neighbor and removed the keys to the van, Assistant State's Attorney Michele Hansen said, reading from the statement of facts in the case.

gregs@herald-mail.com At the time of his arrest in January, a Hagerstown podiatrist had nearly weaned himself off painkillers he began taking for severe headaches about two years before his arrest, the podiatrist's attorney said in a plea hearing Tuesday. Bradley Scott Williams, 29, of 112 Bentley Court in Hagerstown, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court to three counts of obtaining illegal drugs with false prescriptions. Washington County Circuit Judge Frederick C. Wright sentenced Williams to two years in prison, but freed him on the condition that Williams continue drug treatment and comply with restrictions imposed through a Pennsylvania licensing board.

A Hagerstown man who robbed a pharmacy last year using a note that claimed he had a weapon was sentenced Thursday in Washington County Circuit Court to four years in state prison. William David McCullough, 46, of 155 Summit Ave., Apt. 2, pleaded guilty in December to armed robbery in the Aug. 19, 2011, holdup of the CVS on East Wilson Boulevard in Hagerstown. At the time he entered the plea, Assistant State's Attorney Michele Hansen told Judge Donald E. Beachley that McCullough, who was not armed, was charged with armed robbery because he presented a note to the pharmacist that claimed he was armed.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A Maryland man has been charged with 31 counts of prescription fraud in Martinsburg, according to court records. Craig Ward, 47, of Corriganville, Md., was arraigned Tuesday in Berkeley County Magistrate Court and held on $30,000 bond in the Eastern Regional Jail. Four pharmacies in the Martinsburg area told police a man and a woman used a prescription scheme to illegally obtain painkillers, including the highly addictive Vicodin, according to court records.

Behind the pharmacy counter, the familiar bags of medications are tagged and labeled alphabetically in plastic containers. Customers come and go - but not everyone is there to drop off or pick up a prescription. Some have come for an influenza or shingles vaccine. Others are there to have their blood pressure checked. And many arrive with questions. Will a certain over-the-counter medicine interact with their hypertension pills? What can they do to improve their cholesterol count?

William Charles Chatkin, 80, of Hagerstown, Md., died at Meritus Medical Center May 23, 2012. Born in Hagerstown on Feb. 25, 1932, he was the son of the late Robert H. and Evelyn L. Chatkin. He was of the Jewish faith. He graduated from Hagerstown High School in 1950, Dickinson College in 1954 and Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 1957. He operated Chatkin's Pharmacy with his father until 1962. He owned and operated Chatkin's West-End Pharmacy until 1981. From 1981 to 1995, he was a pharmacist at Patterson's Drug Store in Martinsburg, W.Va.

Editor's note: This is the fourth of a five-part series featuring black men and women who are making a difference in their communities. waynesboro@herald-mail.com Francis Achampong has large windows in his second floor office in Penn State Mont Alto's Conklin Hall, but they aren't needed to brighten up the room - his broad, infectious smile does that. Achampong, 48, is Mont Alto's director of academic affairs, a job that puts him second in command of the 1,100-student campus behind David Gnage, the school's campus executive officer.

Editor's note - Please be as brief as possible when calling Mail Call, The Daily Mail's reader call-in line. Mail Call is not staffed on weekends or holidays so it is best to call Mail Call during the week. The Mail Call number is 301-791-6236 . You are welcome to leave a recorded message on any subject, but some calls will be screened out. Here are some of the calls we have received lately: "To the person who wanted to know how to get in contact with the bus that goes to Canada every so often for prescriptions.

A Fairplay man who stole a neighbor's van, unsuccessfully tried to rob a pharmacy and then was caught by the son of the van's owner was sentenced to five years in state prison after pleading guilty Thursday in Washington Circuit Court to attempted robbery. Bradley Steven Lapp, 43, formerly of 8617 Sharpsburg Pike, also pleaded guilty to fourth-degree burglary. In exchange for the plea, charges including theft, motor vehicle theft and assault were dismissed. On the morning of Oct. 13, 2012, Lapp entered the unlocked apartment of a neighbor and removed the keys to the van, Assistant State's Attorney Michele Hansen said, reading from the statement of facts in the case.

A Hagerstown woman faces charges after police said she called a pharmacy and ordered a prescription for a patient who ultimately turned out to be her, according to court documents. Kelly Michelle Nally, 37, of 641 Knightsbridge Drive, was arraigned Tuesday in Berkeley County Magistrate Court on one felony count of unauthorized practice of medicine and a felony count of computer fraud, according to court documents.   The counterfeit prescription for Tramadol, a pain medication, was reported April 17 by a pharmacist at the Spring Mills (W.Va.)

William Charles Chatkin, 80, of Hagerstown, Md., died at Meritus Medical Center May 23, 2012. Born in Hagerstown on Feb. 25, 1932, he was the son of the late Robert H. and Evelyn L. Chatkin. He was of the Jewish faith. He graduated from Hagerstown High School in 1950, Dickinson College in 1954 and Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 1957. He operated Chatkin's Pharmacy with his father until 1962. He owned and operated Chatkin's West-End Pharmacy until 1981. From 1981 to 1995, he was a pharmacist at Patterson's Drug Store in Martinsburg, W.Va.

A Hagerstown man who robbed a pharmacy last year using a note that claimed he had a weapon was sentenced Thursday in Washington County Circuit Court to four years in state prison. William David McCullough, 46, of 155 Summit Ave., Apt. 2, pleaded guilty in December to armed robbery in the Aug. 19, 2011, holdup of the CVS on East Wilson Boulevard in Hagerstown. At the time he entered the plea, Assistant State's Attorney Michele Hansen told Judge Donald E. Beachley that McCullough, who was not armed, was charged with armed robbery because he presented a note to the pharmacist that claimed he was armed.

Behind the pharmacy counter, the familiar bags of medications are tagged and labeled alphabetically in plastic containers. Customers come and go - but not everyone is there to drop off or pick up a prescription. Some have come for an influenza or shingles vaccine. Others are there to have their blood pressure checked. And many arrive with questions. Will a certain over-the-counter medicine interact with their hypertension pills? What can they do to improve their cholesterol count?

What is written in a holdup note matters. At least that was the case for William David McCullough, who pleaded guilty to armed robbery Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court - although the only evidence of a weapon reportedly was in the note he gave to a pharmacist at the CVS on East Wilson Boulevard. McCullough, 46, of 155 Summit Ave., Apt. 2, was charged by Hagerstown police with armed robbery, robbery, theft of less than $1,000 and second-degree assault in the Aug. 19 incident, in which he handed the pharmacist a note demanding Dilaudid tablets and syringes.

Linda Smith, adjunct instructor at Hagerstown Community College, was recently appointed as a board member of the Maryland chapter of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP).  Formed in 1969, ASCP's mission is to manage and improve drug therapy, as well as improve the quality of life of geriatric patients and other individuals in both public and private care. Currently, ASCP has more than 7,000 professional members and more than 4,500 student members in pharmacy, pre-pharmacy, and pharmacy technician programs throughout the United States and Canada.

A Hagerstown pharmacist has been prohibited from dispensing drugs classified as controlled dangerous substances following allegations that he filled thousands of prescriptions for Oxycodone, OxyContin, methadone and other powerful painkillers written by two physicians whose licenses were subsequently suspended. The Maryland Board of Pharmacy voted on Dec. 22, 2010, to summarily suspend the license of David Russo, owner of Russo's Rx at 25 N. Cannon Ave. "There has since been a consent agreement by which my license has been restored, but I cannot dispense controlled dangerous substances," Russo said Tuesday.

HAGERSTOWN -- A Washington County woman pleaded guilty Sept. 23 to a charge of obtaining a drug by fraud in connection with a fraudulent prescription presented at CVS/pharmacy on Dual Highway in June, according to court records. Elizabeth Kay Hurtman, 24, was sentenced to 18 months in jail, but Washington County District Judge Dana Moylan Wright suspended the sentence, according to court records. Hurtman, who was given three years probation, is to abstain from alcohol and abusive use of any drug, to submit to alcohol and drug testing, and to attend three self-help group meetings per week for 52 weeks, court records show.

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) -- A Frederick man has been ordered to serve 20 years in prison for shooting a pharmacist during an attempted robbery. Fifty-three-year-old Maynard Mangold was sentenced Thursday on a charge of attempted second-degree murder. The prison time is part of a 30-year suspended sentence. The shooting happened April 29 at the drive-through window of a CVS store on Rosemont Avenue. Pharmacist Lee Gustafson was wounded in the shoulder. Prosecutors say Gustafson has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder since the shooting and has only limited use of his arm. Mangold fled the shooting without getting cash or drugs.