Federal jury convicts NC doctor of unlawfully distributing oxycodone

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A Pembroke doctor was convicted Tuesday by a federal jury for illegally distributing oxycodone, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Donovan Dave Dixon, 51, of Fayetteville was found guilty on 20 counts of unlawfully distributing oxycodone, as well as conspiracy to do so. The trial found that Dixon had worked with a local drug dealer to provide prescriptions for the drug in the names of persons provided in exchange for cash.

Witnesses testified they had never met Dixon, despite the fact that hundreds of prescriptions had been written in their name. The drug dealer testified that Dixon’s prescriptions provided him with drugs to sell on the streets in Robeson County.

The Drug Enforcement Agency began investigating Dixon when it noticed four of the state’s top-10 oxycodone-prescribing pharmacies were located in Lumberton, which is about 12 miles east of Pembroke.

The DOJ is “aggressively moving against all individuals who illegally distribute prescription drugs. Whether those illegally pushing these drugs are on the street or operating from a doctor’s office, we will pursue you, charge you and convict you,” said attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Robert J. Higon, Jr.

According to the release, Dixon operated a family medical practice in Pembroke from 2012 until his ability to prescribe controlled substances was limited on April 6, 2015.

Dixon is scheduled to be sentenced the week of July 23.