PICAYUNE —
A couple was arrested on Wednesday for their alleged possession of prescription medication they had no prescription for.
The two suspects have been identified as Rickie Hutcherson, 35, of 7 Rolling Oaks Lane and Jessica Billiot, 32, of 22 Rosemary Wheat Lane.
Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department Chief Investigator Donnie Saucier said the investigation began after the department received a number of complaints about the couple allegedly selling prescription medication.
In response a surveillance operation was set up on Wednesday. Saucier said the surveillance operation led to a traffic stop on Hutcherson. After getting consent to search Hutcherson and his vehicle investigators found about 17 Oxycontin pills.
While the investigators were working the traffic stop Billiot, Hutcherson’s girlfriend, showed up at the scene and began interfering with the investigation, Saucier. After several warnings to leave the scene and comply with the investigators request, Billiot was arrested for disorderly conduct. A subsequent search of her belongings found three and a half Hydrocodone pills, 11 Klonopins, and four and half Adderalls.
Since the couple did not have prescriptions for those medications Hutcherson was charged with felony possession of Oxycontins, while Billiot was charged with felony possession of Adderall and two misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance for the Hydrocodone and Klonopin pills.
Due to the charges against the couple the department was able to secure search warrants for their homes. In the search investigators found documents and other evidence that suggests the couple was “doctor shopping”, or visiting doctors in three states, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, to obtain large amounts of medication they did have prescriptions for in order to sell them. Saucier said the evidence suggests the couple had acquired more of the medication than is possible for one person to consume.
Those allegations are under further investigation, Saucier said. It is possible that the evidence could be turned over to a federal agency for investigation.
According to records with the Sheriff’s Department Billiot owns Available Anytime Bonding.
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