Odessa Man Sentenced To Federal Prison For Turning Cold Medicine Into Meth
By: Dylan Brooks
Updated: March 14, 2013
MIDLAND -- An Odessa man has been sentenced to decades in federal prison for turning cold medicine into methamphetamines.
Paul David Copeland Jr. was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in Midland federal court on March 8th.
Copeland, 47, will be on supervised release for 5 years once his sentence is up.
A federal jury in Midland convicted Copeland of possessing pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture methamphetamine, conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, and attempting to manufacture methamphetamine on January 9th.
The guilty verdict came at the end of a two-day trial.
Copeland bought over-the-counter cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine -- a key ingredient in manufacturing methamphetamine -- from Odessa pharmacies such as Walgreen's, Walmart, Target, Albertson's, and H.E.B. between fall 2006 and August 2011.
Copeland also reportedly recruited at least 3 other people to purchase the same type of cold medicine on his behalf.
Prosecutors believe Copeland used the cold medicine to manufacture methamphetamines.
In fact, Ector County Sheriff's deputies reportedly found an active meth lab in Copeland's travel trailer and pickup truck in Odessa in 2007.
Copeland was arrested in April 2012, and he's been in federal custody since that time.
The Texas Department of Public Safety, the Ector County Sheriff's Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case against Copeland.
Paul David Copeland Jr. was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in Midland federal court on March 8th.
Copeland, 47, will be on supervised release for 5 years once his sentence is up.
A federal jury in Midland convicted Copeland of possessing pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture methamphetamine, conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, and attempting to manufacture methamphetamine on January 9th.
The guilty verdict came at the end of a two-day trial.
Copeland bought over-the-counter cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine -- a key ingredient in manufacturing methamphetamine -- from Odessa pharmacies such as Walgreen's, Walmart, Target, Albertson's, and H.E.B. between fall 2006 and August 2011.
Copeland also reportedly recruited at least 3 other people to purchase the same type of cold medicine on his behalf.
Prosecutors believe Copeland used the cold medicine to manufacture methamphetamines.
In fact, Ector County Sheriff's deputies reportedly found an active meth lab in Copeland's travel trailer and pickup truck in Odessa in 2007.
Copeland was arrested in April 2012, and he's been in federal custody since that time.
The Texas Department of Public Safety, the Ector County Sheriff's Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case against Copeland.
