Men Indicted in Scheme to Ship Drugs to Lakewood

Three men were indicted for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute nearly 3,000 pills of Oxycodone.

Some of those pills were allegedly expected to be distributed in Lakewood, as well as several other communities in Northeast Ohio.

That’s according to a news release from Steven M. Dettelbach, US Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Indicted are: Myron D. Black, age 44, of Mansfield; Chauncey L. Ransom, age 49, of Inglewood, California, and Victor A. Hageman, age 45, of Euclid.

“Prescription pill abuse is a major problem in Ohio,” Dettelbach said in the news release. “Whether it is a doctor selling prescriptions or people using the mail to ship pills across the country, we are committed to stopping the flow of illegal drugs.”

Ransom obtained a total of 2,989 pills (30 mg each) of Oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, in California and mailed them to Black, Hageman and other in Ohio via the United States Postal Service Express Mail, according to the indictment. 

Ransom often packaged the pills in video movie disc covers, plastic bubble mailing envelopes and other packaging to conceal the contents, according to the indictment.

Black and Hageman made arrangements with other individuals to receive the package from Ransom in return for money, usually $200, according to the indictment.

The conspiracy took place between at least August 2012 through April 2013, with Ransom mailing packages to addresses in Lakewood, Seven Hills, Akron and Mansfield containing shipments of between 200 and 600 pills, according to the indictment.