Pain pills

A former postal employee has pleaded guilty to stealing packages containing prescription medications intended for veterans.

Richard "Ricky" Curtis Hunnicutt appeared in federal court in Macon Thursday to enter his plea. He faces up to five years in prison when he's sentenced April 9.

Prosecutors told "The Macon Telegraph" that Hunnicutt used his position as a mail sorter in Macon to remove packages of pain medication that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs was sending to veterans. Searches at his home found 13 mail bags that were addressed to others and eight empty bottles of pain pills that were prescribed for others.

Prosecutors say Hunnicutt told them he was injured prior to starting work for the Postal Service in 2003 and had become addicted to pain pills.

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