Former Plymouth County Inmate Attempted to Obtain Drugs While in Jail

Joseph Pedro, 36, formerly of Middleboro, was charged in a seven-count Indictment with attempting to obtain buprenorphine while he was an inmate.

The indictment alleges that between December 2010 and April 2011, Pedro conspired with others to obtain buprenorphine, a narcotic drug, while he was in custody at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility. On six occasions in April 2011, members of the conspiracy mailed correspondence containing buprenorphine to Pedro and other inmates. Buprenorphine can be prescribed to treat drug addiction but is used by non-addicts to get high.

The maximum sentence under the statute is 20 years in prison, followed three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, John J. Arvanitis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Sheriff Joseph D. McDonald, Jr., Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda M. Ricci of Ortiz’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

The details contained in the Indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.