Women charged after shopping for meth supplies at Wal-Mart

Women charged after shopping for meth supplies at Wal-Mart

April 27, 2004

By YVONNE NAVA
6 News Anchor/Reporter

JEFFERSON CITY (WATE) -- In Jefferson City, a 5:00 a.m. shopping spree landed two women in jail for trying to make methamphetamine. And store cashiers played an important role in the bust.

The womens' shopping cart was filled with coffee filters, glass jars, tubing and suphedrine. But there was one item that tipped off a store supervisor.

"Well, they asked for several cans of starter fluid," Travis Street said. "And that, in combination with what they already had in their shopping cart, that raised their suspicion."

Wal-Mart employees called police. By the time Milah Slone and Amanda Green got their $61 receipt and left the store, two officers were waiting in the parking lot.

"They said that they were purchasing the items for someone else," said Sgt. Darrell Turley. He added that the women also confessed to shoplifting lithium batteries.

And officers found even more evidence in the womens' car. "There was an oxygen tank, some Pyrex dishes with residue on them and some other items in plain view."

Wal-Mart management said this isn't the first time they've caught people buying meth lab materials. In fact, their cash registers won't allow someone to buy more than three items containing suphedrine.

Travis Street trains employees to be vigilant and says he's happy with the way they handled the situation. "They did a great job reacting. I mean, it really paid off."

Sgt. Turley said stopping East Tennessee's growing meth problem won't be easy. But they're taking down labs one at a time. "Every one of them we can put in jail, as far as for the community, hopefully it makes us a little safer."

Jefferson City police also said the shopping spree bust is their second in the past week.

Sloane and Green are charged with manufacturing methanphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia and marijuana. They're scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning.