Oakland City Woman Sentenced For Dealing Prescription Drugs

News Release: From: Gibson County Prosecutor OAKLAND CITY WOMAN GETS 10 YEAR SENTENCE FOR DEALING PRESCRIPTION DRUGS Lori A. Reel, age 43, Oakland City, pleaded guilty in Gibson Superior Court to one count of Dealing in a Schedule II Controlled Substance, a Class B felony and received a sentence of ten (10) years, of which the first six (6) years are to be served in the Indiana Department of Corrections with the remaining four (4) years to be served on probation. Reel did not have a plea agreement with prosecutors, and was sentenced after a hearing presided over by Judge Earl Penrod. In August, 2007, Oakland City Police Officer Michael Collins worked with a confidential informant (C.I) to arrange drug buys in the Oakland City area. On August 25th, Collins searched the C. I. for drugs to confirm that he/she did not already possess them and then supplied the C.I. with a prerecorded $20 bill. Collins also wired the C.I. with a voice recorder before dropping him/her off at the residence of Lori Reel, who lived at 538 Walnut Street in Oakland City. The C.I. then met with Reel, and shortly thereafter returned with 5 small orange capsules later identified as Adderall, which is a schedule II prescription drug. Reel then left her residence, and Collins followed her to a local gas station, where he found that Reel was in possession of the prerecorded $20 bill. A subsequent search of Reel’s home found evidence that Reel had taken the pills from her daughter’s prescription bottle. Reel later admitted to Officer Collins that she had sold the pills so she could pay for her daughter to karaoke. Gibson County Prosecutor Robert Krieg praised OCPD Officer Collins for his thorough work in this case. Krieg noted that Officer Collins, Chief Alec Hensley, Francisco Town Marshall Vance Lloyd and other officers have worked hard to secure a number of significant drug busts recently in the East Gibson area. Krieg stated that he has heard from a number of East Gibson residents that this and other recent convictions are making a big difference in the fight against the drug epidemic in the Oakland City area.