(PCSD file photos)
By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A 71-year-old woman and her 29-year-old grandson have been jailed on $50,000 bail each on charges stemming from two search warrants obtained by Payne County Sheriff’s Investigator Brandon Myers, which were served at her camper trailer in the Timberline RV Park between Cushing and Drumright on 9th Street.
Kathy Anne Hale, who has a history of drug convictions and has been known by the surname of Vassar, and her grandson, Garrett Lee Scott, appeared in court by video from the Payne County Jail last week, court records show.
Hale could be incarcerated for 28 years and fined $301,000 if found guilty of trafficking fentanyl and possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute along with having drug paraphernalia. She has been scheduled for an Oct. 2 preliminary hearing.
Her grandson could be incarcerated for nine years and fined $7,000 if convicted of possessing a credit/debit card skimming device, as well as methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. He has been scheduled for a Sept. 23 preliminary hearing.
The sheriff’s investigator served a search warrant issued by Payne County District Judge Phillip Corley at 8:42 am on June 19 at Hale’s fifth wheel-style camper trailer where he was greeted by Hale and her grandson, according to Myer’s affidavit.
“She told me there was methamphetamine in the lockbox, and she had pills in her purse. She told me she has a prescription for oxycodone, but the oxycodone pills that are in her purse are not the pills she received from her prescription. She told me she recently purchased the pills for $400. She told me that she sells pills and methamphetamine,” Myers alleged in his affidavit.
“I located the lockbox, which is disguised as a book. I located the keys to the box in Kathy’s purse. Inside the lockbox were small spoons, baggies, and a bag containing a crystal substance that tested presumptive positive for methamphetamine. I located another lockbox disguised as a book that was locked but had a three-number combination. The box was full of baggies,” Myers alleged in his affidavit.
“The pills found in Kathy’s purse were in a silver and clear zip-lock-style bag with 55 round pink pills with the stamped inscription of K 56. There was one round yellow pill stamped with a design on one side and 230 on the other,” identified as containing 325 mg of acetaminophen and 10 mg of oxycodone hydrochloride. The pink pills appear to be counterfeit based on inconsistent stamping on the pills,” Myers alleged in his affidavit.
“In the area distinguished as Garrett’s, on top of the dresser I located a clear bag containing a crystal substance, a credit card in the name of Garrett Scott with a powder residue on the card, and a straw next to the card. Also, in the dresser and couch area, I located numerous electronic devices and computers that, in my training and experience, appear to be used for skimming credit card information.
“I requested and was granted an additional search warrant by Payne County Special Judge Susan Worthington that covered items used in and or related to the crimes of identity theft and debit/credit card theft and counterfeiting. I located numerous antennas and hand-held devices commonly used to steal credit card information from devices installed at credit card machines, such as gas pumps or card readers, inside stores. I found on top of the dresser a Flipper Zero, a handheld device designed to hack digital devices such as radio protocols, access control systems and other hardware,” Myers alleged in his affidavit.
“I found additional chip and magnet-stripped unmarked credit cards in the same area. It appeared that these devices, although legal to possess, were being used to illegally obtain credit card information and use the stolen information to clone the blank cards that were found. Additionally, several laptop computers above the couch where Garrett was sleeping appeared to be used in conjunction with the electronic devices already seized,” Myers alleged in his affidavit.
The next day when the sheriff’s investigator tested one of the pink pills at the Stillwater Police Department, it was positive for fentanyl, the affidavit alleged. “The pills and the methamphetamine will be sent to the OSBI laboratory for further analysis,” the affidavit said.
