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EYEWITNESS LOCAL NEWS
DRUG RAIDfrom Eyewitness News Online Alleged Pill Mill Raided In West Logan; Doctor Arrested Reported by:  Dave BentonWeb Producer: Dave Benton Reported: Mar. 3, 2013 1:58 PM EST Updated: Mar. 4, 2013 4:40 AM EST
West Logan
, Logan County
, West Virginia
Police in Logan County said it was a major victory in the war against prescription pill abuse. A so-called pill mill was shut down this morning on W.Va. Route 10, and police arrested a doctor who they say supplied hundreds of patients with prescriptions for high powered painkillers. Members of the West Logan Church of God said their prayers were answered when police raided a building just down the street along W.Va. Route 10. “People at this church have prayed and prayed, because every family in this whole state is affected by drugs in one way or another,” said church member Debbie Wilburn. Police arrested Dr. Fernando Gonzalez Ramos and charged him with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Police said Ramos traveled once a month all the way from El Paso, Texas to Logan, then would see hundreds of patients and write them prescriptions for pain killers. A special drug task force had been investigating the doctor for quite some time and issued a federal arrest warrant Sunday morning. “This is a major step,” said Sgt. M.S. Lively of the West Virginia State Police. “It's still going to be there. There are other outlets, other ways people obtain these prescriptions. This won't stop it. It helps.” Lively said the parking lot at the pill mill was full Sunday morning and a long line of patients was waiting for a prescription. Debbie Wilburn and other church members said they'll continue to pray and offer help for addicts in their community. “Our church is available to help everybody,” Wilburn said. “We're supposed to be the church that heals.” A doctor from El Paso, Texas has been arrested for allegedly operating a pill mill in Logan County. A federal warrant has been served against Dr. Fernado Gonzalez-Ramos. He is charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. The raid happened at a building along Route 10 in West Logan. Police say the doctor was traveling all the way from El Paso, Texas to the building once a month, and would see hundreds of patients. A special drug task force had been investigating the doctor for quite some time and issued an arrest warrant Sunday. The U.S. 119 Drug Task Force raided an office that Gonzalez-Ramos had set up in West Logan on Route 10. They say he would set up an office in that building and only stay for a couple of days. Investigators say that building didn't even have running water. Members of the task force raided the building at 9 a.m. Sunday and say the parking lot was already filled patients' vehicles. We have a crew headed to the area. Stay tuned to Eyewitness News for more on this developing story. MORE NEWS FROM EYEWITNESS NEWS
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