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Suspect nabbed by alert pharmacy employee
Published Saturday, September 13, 2008
A Birmingham man allegedly came to Selma to fill a fake prescription.
Police officers arrested Timothy Stone, 46, and charged him with obstructing justice by using a false id and criminal possession of a forged instrument second-degree felony.
Walgreens Pharmacy Manager Susan Land reported the case to the Selma Police Department.
“A woman came in to fill the prescription,” she said. “After she did, she went out to the parking lot where [Stone] was.”
Unfortunately for Stone, Walgreens is a member of Scriptwatch, a program that monitors fake or forged prescriptions.
“The prescription looked very real,” Land said. “It was on a prescription pad from a doctor at UAB and it left a finger print if you touched it.”
Once the woman left, the Scriptwatch faxed Walgreens reporting the fake prescription.
“I’ve been in pharmacy for two years and this is my first forged case,” Land said.
The prescription ended up having many errors according to Land. The doctor, whose pad the prescription was written on, no longer works at UAB hospital. Also, the Drug Enforcement Administration number did not match the name of the doctor.
“I saw that at first, but the name was different by an initial,” Land said. “I think the real name had an M, but an N was written.”
Officers responded to the call and questioned Stone.
“When the officers arrived, Mr. Stone gave them a fake name and social security number,” Lieutenant David Evans, spokesman for the police department, said. “Officers quickly realized the information was false and after further questioning he told the officers his real name.”
Stone told police he gave the wrong name because he had warrants on him according to authorities.
“Officers checked and found out that Mr. Stone did have two felony warrants,” Evans said. “One warrant is in Shelby County and the other is in Jefferson County.”
Officers placed Stone in the Dallas County Jail under two $10,000 bonds. Once he makes bond, Shelby and Jefferson county law enforcement officers will take him for the felony warrants.
Obstructing justice by using a false id is a class-c felony. It is a heavier charge than giving false name to a police offer, which is a class-a misdemeanor.
“This charge is becoming more widely used,” Evans said. “Officers are more aware of it because of terrorist activity. This is really a more specific charge than giving a false name.”
Stone faces two class-c felony charges. If convicted of one charged, he could face jail time between one year and a day to 10 years and a fine up to $15,000.
Land said the prescription Stone was trying fill was Xanax. The tranquilizer drug is commonly used for panic attacks and anxiety disorders.
According to a 2006 survey by the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Adminstration, 321,000 people took Xanax without a prescription.
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Comments
Posted by nowhining (anonymous) on September 13, 2008 at 1:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you Susan Land, for a job well done. I also hope that this man from Birmingham gets some help for his addiction to Xanax. I've known several people, mostly women in their 50's whom Xanax, with a legal prescription, has taken over their lives, and some who can't seem to shake the addiction, even after going off for help.
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