Crime & Safety
Motel Meth Lab Discovered After Failed CVS Robbery In Brandon
A man and two women attempted to steal, then return, merchandise from CVS, which led to the discovery of a methamphetamine lab in a Brandon motel.
Another discovery of a methamphetamine lab in a local motel surfaced last week, after three people were arrested on petit theft charges for a botched robbery of a CVS pharmacy in Brandon, according to a report from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
Earlier this summer it was at a hotel in Seffner that Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies acted on a Crime Stoppers tip and reported a crime scene that involved an active methamphetamine lab beneath the bathroom sink in a room at the Masters Inn Tampa East.
According to the sheriff's office report, the day started badly for Jamie Gay and Colleen Cooke on Tuesday, July 30, when they wrongly chose to rob the CVS pharmacy at 715 Brandon Blvd. Bad turned to worse after they reportedly passed "all points of sale" without paying for "Scar Jel," Culture Digest and a pair of sunglasses.
Gay, 32, of 2108 East 99th Ave., Tampa, and Cooke, 46, of 617 Auxerre Circle, Seffner, then allegedly passed the stolen items on to Nicole McCall, 22, of 15055 Citrus Way, Brooksville, who re-entered the store in hopes of returning the items as if she had bought them.
"The store manager realized that the items were stolen and would not accept the items for return," notes the report.
Gay, Cooke and McCall reportedly left the scene in a Maroon 1996 Ford Explorer. Deputies conducted a traffic stop and confirmed that the driver, Gay, had a suspended driver’s license. "A search subsequent to the arrest the defendant had five counterfeit U.S. $20 bills in his front right pants pocket," the report continues. "At the time of the traffic stop, the defendant falsely identified himself as Donald White," 33.
The report continues: "It was learned that the defendants were staying at the Motel 6 located at Falkenburg Road and Highway 60. Deputies responded to the hotel and a search of the room they were staying in revealed that the defendant Jaime Gay was manufacturing methamphetamine in the motel room. Gay is also charged with violation of probation."
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What Is Methamphetamine?
(Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse)
- Methamphetamine is a central nervous system stimulant drug that is similar in structure to amphetamine.
- Due to its high potential for abuse, methamphetamine is classified as a Schedule II drug and is available only through a prescription that cannot be refilled.
- Although methamphetamine can be prescribed by a doctor, its medical uses are limited, and the doses that are prescribed are much lower than those typically abused.
- Most of the methamphetamine abused in this country comes from foreign or domestic superlabs, although it can also be made in small, illegal laboratories, where its production endangers the people in the labs, neighbors, and the environment.
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