NBHS RESOURCE OFFICER FACES CHARGES

Forged OxyContin Prescriptions Alleged

A school resource officer at New Bern High School faces charges of forging
six prescriptions to obtain the drug OxyContin, a powerful but sometimes
addictive pain killer.

Cinderella "Cindy" Hardin Eubanks, 43, a 15-year veteran with the New Bern
Police Department, faces six counts of common law forgery. She has been
placed on administrative leave and will continue collecting her annual
salary of $44,044.

Frank Palombo, New Bern police chief, said in a written statement that
police received information on Monday from a local pharmacy regarding an
officer obtaining prescription drugs fraudulently. He said the department
immediately launched a criminal and internal investigation.

Thursday the police department, with the concurrence of the district
attorney's office, obtained arrest warrants for Eubanks, who was served
Friday and released into the custody of her family. According to police,
Eubanks is scheduled for a court appearance on May 3.

The six common law forgery charges "are the appropriate charges at this
point in the investigation," according to the press release.

"As soon as the police department became aware of the situation they
launched a thorough investigation," said District Attorney W. David
McFadyen Jr. "They immediately contacted our office. There are still issues
to be resolved. The department took the appropriate action."

Eubanks was a patrol officer and an investigator with the major crimes unit
before volunteering several years ago to be a school resource officer.

Palombo said another New Bern officer has been assigned temporarily at the
high school, keeping the 1,750-student school with two officers on campus.

McFadyen termed the incident a "tragedy" for Eubanks and the police department.

"It is important to say at this time that she was prescribed the medication
by a doctor for a medical condition," McFadyen said. "This problem arose
from her use of the medication from a prescription she was prescribed. It
was a legitimate prescription. It apparently became addictive.

"The most fraudulent cases we have involving medication in our community is
OxyContin. Four or five people have died in Carteret County because of
overdosing on this particular drug."

Physicians advise patients using OxyContin that the use could interfere
with the ability to do certain things that could require full attention,
such as driving a car or operating heavy machines. The drug became widely
known last year when radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh admitted his
addiction to the pain killer.

McFadyen said OxyContin is a slow, time-released pain killer. He said users
found that if they ground them up, they would get a powerful high. He did
not characterize Eubanks' use of the medication.

According to a published medical report, the first year OxyContin was
available in the United States in 1995, sales totaled about $55 million.
Last year, sales of OxyContin exceeded $1 billion.

Sources inside the investigation said Friday at this point there is no
indication that students at the high school were involved in the situation.
School officials did not respond to questions.

"She had a good reputation with the police department," McFadyen said. "It
is a sad day for the department and for her, a single mother trying to
raise her children. Police officers are held to a higher standard but they
are human beings and human beings make mistakes."

Palombo said Eubanks is a respected officer.

"This incident should not reflect on Cindy's career with the police
department," he said. "She has done an outstanding job with the department
and she has served the city of New Bern well."