She claimed to be the victim, but she's the one behind bars. A scheme to score drugs landed a woman and her boyfriend in jail.
They wanted more prescription drugs and were hoping to use police to get them. 52 year old Jeanne Rydell and her boyfriend, 40 year old Emilio Moreno confessed to filing a false report with the Gainesville Police Department. It was a plan that wasted resources and points to a growing prescription drug problem.
Officer Michael Preston said, "We ran lights and sirens to get there and set up a large perimeter." Rydell told police she was along Northwest 12th Street, when someone rode up behind her on a bicycle and snatched her purse. Because robbery is considered a high priority call, 15 units responded to the scene.
Rydell told investigators to look for a black man with his hair pulled back and that her purse contained oxycodone, methadone and xanax.
Preston said, "(She) wasn't worried about the money right away, wasn't worried about anything else inside the purse, except for the pills, that was her main priority at the time." Detectives became suspicious of Rydell's story and after more questioning, she admitted that the whole thing was a scheme with her boyfriend to get more prescription medication.
Unaware of her confession, Emilio Moreno called to report witnessing the robbery. Both were arrested.
Lieutenant Will Halvosa said, "You can't quantitatively, I don't think, ever come up with an amount that it really costs the city and costs the community." Halvosa says the resources wasted on a false report mean less for people who really need help. And these types of crimes, both false and legitimate, involving prescription drugs are becoming more prevalent. Halvosa said, "We've seen, certainly over the last couple of years, a real increase in these types of crimes being reported, where prescription narcotics are being taken."
Governor Rick Scott is planning to repeal a state prescription drug database that is scheduled to go online this spring. A decision supported in the house, but not the senate. And GPD will be pursuing compensation for the cost of investigating this false report.