Perryville druggist indicted

A Perry County pharmacist who was arrested last week was formally indicted this week on federal charges of distribution of hydrocodone and being a drug user in possession of a firearm.

The indictment, handed up Wednesday and filed publicly on Friday, accuses Christopher Grant Watson, who co-owns Perry County Food and Drug Store in Perryville with his father, of distributing the Schedule II narcotic on Nov. 7. That's when, according to a criminal complaint, an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent went to the pharmacy with a phony prescription that Watson acknowledged wasn't legitimate but filled anyway.

The complaint said that before filling it and accepting money for it, Watson even advised the undercover agent how to make the fake prescription look valid, according to the indictment.

The second charge accuses Watson of possessing a .357-caliber pistol on Jan. 27 despite being an illegal user of a controlled substance and being addicted to a controlled substance.

On Tuesday, Watson asked to begin inpatient treatment for substance abuse in lieu of being held in jail until trial, and U.S. Magistrate Judge H. David Young agreed. Young ordered Watson to complete a 30-day inpatient program, followed by a chemical-free living program, before beginning home detention with electronic monitoring at his own expense.

Metro on 02/07/2015

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