Three sentenced for stealing powerful drugs from KC area pharmacies

Three Kansas City area residents have been sentenced to federal prison for stealing thousands of pain killers in a series of armed robberies of pharmacies.

They were also part of a group that also created and passed fraudulent prosecutions for the potent pain killer oxycodone.

Tara D. Childress, 31, and Michael Bellinghausen, 33, both of Gladstone, were sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City where they previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to distribute oxycodone.

Childress was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison, and Bellinghausen was sentenced to 11 years.

On Wednesday, Julian R. King, 22, of Kansas City, was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison for conspiracy to commit robbery.

In their pleas, Bellinghausen and Childress admitted that they were involved with others in passing numerous fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone from May 1, 2013, to July 16, 2015. Members of the group would either use the drugs or sell them to others.

When passing the fake prescriptions became more difficult, the group began planning pharmacy robberies.

Members of the conspiracy robbed pharmacies in Liberty, Independence and Kansas City, taking thousands of oxycodone pills.

Six others have previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the crimes.

This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Three sentenced for stealing powerful drugs from KC area pharmacies."