A Minnesota pharmacist has admitted to pocketing pills for her use, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Kristie Marie Dezell, 46, the former head pharmacist at a Maplewood, Minnesota pharmacy, has pleaded guilty to filching bottles of the powerful painkiller oxycodone, the U.S. Attorney's office announced.

Dezell's drug diversion scheme ran from March 2020 to June 2023, according to court filings. To cover her tracks, she doctored the pharmacy's records – making her stash appear legitimate.

The case cracked open following an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Maplewood Police Department. "Dezell pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court before Judge Michael J. Davis to one count of obtaining possession of controlled substance by misrepresentation," the U.S. Attorney's Office stated.

"A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time," the office added. The investigation efforts that hoisted Dezell from behind a pharmacy counter into the defendant's seat culminated in today's plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Forbes is tagged to prosecute the case.