COFFEE COUNTY, GA -
A father and son who operate drug stores in Coffee County were both arrested for selling prescription drugs to people who did not have a prescription for those drugs.
The arrests were made Wednesday in Douglas and Broxton.
Two Coffee County pharmacists are charged with selling prescription drugs to customers who don't have prescriptions.
Both Mobley's Discount Pharmacy in Douglas, which is owned by Cliff Mobley, and Save More Drugs in Broxton, which is owned by his son Brad, were raided by DEA agents Wednesday.
Tonight, the Mobleys are facing drug charges as well as charges of with practicing medicine without a license and their stores are closed.
Citizens are upset that their pharmacists and friends are in trouble. They even put a poster on one store for supporters to sign. But Coffee County detectives say there's no doubt the men were breaking the law.
Broxton may be a small town, but plenty of people there are supporting Brad Mobley. He and his father are pharmacists in Coffee County. Detectives took out warrants for their arrest after a long investigation.
"Two and a half year investigation in which the Sheriff's office and PD drug unit had used confidential informants to go inside of both pharmacies and buy prescription medications," said Detective Sgt. Leslie with the Coffee County Sheriff's Office.
Cliff Mobley ran Mobley's Discount Pharmacy in Douglas. They had a sign on the door today saying the inventory was being audited. His son Brad ran the Save More store in Broxton. The people there loved him and say he helped them.
"My mother has to have her medicine," said customer Patricia Miller. "She has been waiting three days on her medicine and can't get them. She had to go to Douglas this morning to get them. He has been a tremendous help for her. He has saved her a lot of money."
One customer says he and his mother have used Save-More for years. They refuse to get her pain medicine elsewhere even though she recently had surgery.
"She just had back surgery September of last year," said customer Jimmy Reliford. "She'll have to do without it until he gets back open. We are not going to move pharmacies. We are going to wait for him to get home and wait for it to open back up."
Brad Mobley seems to have many supporters who say he is an outstanding pharmacist and person. But authorities maintain they have proof that he has violated the law.
"We have seven video buys in which Brad Mobley sold prescription medication to people without legitimate prescriptions," said Detective Sgt. Leslie.
The medicines he was selling without prescriptions were pain killers, anti depressants, and appetite suppressants. His friends and family refuse to believe it.
"Yes, we want it back open," said Brad Mobley's aunt Winnie Smith. "Because we love him. And we need him."
The violations from both pharmacies are still being investigated.
The Coffee County Sheriff's office said misusing prescription drugs is a big problem in the county. He says despite some support for the pharmacies, many people have told them they appreciate the raid.
Both pharmacists were booked into the Coffee County jail and are now out on bond.
The Coffee County Sheriff's Office issued this statement Friday morning–
The Coffee County Sheriff's office, Douglas Police Department Drug Unit, the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Division executed search warrants at Mobley's Discount Pharmacy in Douglas, GA and Save More Drugs in Broxton, GA.
Cliff Mobley and Brad Mobley were each arrested without incident.
The search warrants were the result of an investigation in which both pharmacies had sold scheduled controlled substances without prescriptions to confidential informants over a two and one – half year period.
More specifically, both Mobley's Discount Pharmacy and Save More Drugs sold anti-depressants, appetite suppressive meds and pain killers to persons who did not have valid prescriptions from a physician.
The Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency and DEA Diversion uncovered multiple violations with both pharmacies, violations that are still being investigated.
Due to the violations, both pharmacists immediately surrendered their DEA permits. In addition, over 500,000 scheduled controlled substances were seized from both pharmacies.
Mobley's Discount Pharmacy and Save More Drugs can still operate and function as pharmacies, pending further review of this case and the consequences concerning their licenses; however, neither pharmacy can fill any prescriptions for scheduled controlled substances as defined by law until further notice.
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