Man dressed up as dead sister to get prescription drugs

An Athens, Tennessee, man is accused of going to some creative means to get his hands on prescription drugs. Witnesses say Douglas Gregory Nichols, on two separate occasions, wore a wig and makeup to pick up prescriptions that belonged to his sister, who died less than a day before the first incident, said Athens Police Sgt. Detective Heith Willis.

"We are assuming he was doing that to look more like the relative," Willis said. "It is unbelievable to me," he said later. Nichols' first attempt worked, but on the second try pharmacy staff recognized he wasn't the rightful owner. Nichols was arrested on Tuesday on a warrant for prescription fraud.



He was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of schedule II drugs, two counts of prescription fraud, criminal impersonation, parole violation, false impersonation, possession of schedule IV drugs and introduction to a penal facility. Nichols is being held at the McMinn County Justice Center on $511,500 bond and faces a date in General Sessions Court.

Willis said Nichols visited every Athens pharmacy attempting to get Xanax and hydrocodone. Several times he was successful by calling in his own prescriptions to the pharmacy, claiming he was the head nurse of a local doctor's office or the doctor himself. "Luckily, most of the pharmacies know the voice of the nurse or doctor, and I think that is how we caught up with him," Willis said. Next month, the Grand Jury will be presented with eight more felony charges of prescription fraud and identity theft against Nichols, he said.