Woman arrested on drug charges

A Nesquehoning woman was arrested by Tamaqua police Wednesday, March 16, after she allegedly tried to have a forged prescription filled at a local pharmacy.

Jeanne Theresa Thorpe, 38, of 119 W. Ridge St., allegedly took a prescription for oxycodone in to Shafer's Pharmacy on Center Street at approximately 2:50 p.m. She left the store and said she would pick up the medicine later in the day.

Pharmacist Ben Shafer noticed some irregularities and called the doctor whose name was on the script. The doctor denied having written the prescription so Shafer called police.

When Thorpe arrived to pick up the prescription at 3:15 p.m., police were waiting. She was taken into custody, Mirandized and searched. Officers found a green plastic container containing a piece of a plastic baggie. The baggie tested positive for cocaine.

Thorpe was charged with possession of a fraudulent prescription for a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and forgery.

She was video arraigned before duty District Judge Carol Pankake of Tremont, who set bail at $15,000. Unable to post the required 10 percent, Thorpe was lodged in the Schuylkill County Prison, Pottsville.