ST. GEORGE — A Florida woman is in jail after officers found her in front of a pharmacy where she attempted to pass a forged prescription, which was a match to a second fraudulent prescription turned over to officers weeks before.
On Monday shortly after 1 p.m. officers responded to a pharmacy on South Mall Drive in St. George on a report of a fraudulent prescription in progress.
According to charging documents filed with the court, officers arrived to learn a woman had presented a forged prescription to be filled. The information was relayed to the pharmacists by a third party who also contacted police, since the pharmacist was unable to make the call at the time.
Shortly thereafter, the pharmacist called emergency dispatch reporting that the suspect was still in the lobby of the business waiting for the medication to be filled, and the report also states the caller described the suspect as a woman in her late-20s with medium dark hair. The caller also stated the suspect “started to look nervous” and appeared as though she was preparing to leave the pharmacy.
Officers encountered the suspect who matched the woman described by the pharmacist outside near the front of the business.
After being advised as to why police were there, the woman identified herself as Chelsea Amanda Roush out of Florida. She also reportedly told police she did not have any ID on her, adding she was a traveling nurse and was there to pick up a prescription for one of her four patients.
The prescription was turned over to investigators, who determined it was fraudulent, and also discovered it was an identical match to a forged prescription that was turned over to police two weeks ago.
Through the course of the investigation, detectives learned the doctor listed on the document had been “out of practice for months,” the officer noted in the report, which they also confirmed by calling the phone number listed on the prescription.
While speaking to the officer, Roush said she had gotten the prescription from one of her patients who presumably received it from their doctor.
When questioned further, the report states Roush was unable to verify the information on her patient, and was unwilling to provide police with any information on the vehicle that brought her to the pharmacy, so after confirming the prescription was fraudulent, and after officers gave the suspect “plenty of time to explain why she was in possession of the fraudulent document,” the woman was arrested.
Prior to being transported to jail, officers searched Roush’s purse and reportedly recovered two white pills that were later identified with the help of dispatchers as Oxycodone. Officers also found three financial cards belonging to three separate individuals, none of whom were Roush. Officers asked why she would have the cards and Roush reportedly claimed the purse did not belong to her, adding she had borrowed it from a friend.
Roush also provided the name of the friend, but when asked, she was unable to provide any contact information for that person.
As time went on, the report states, the suspect became increasingly uncooperative, to the point she told authorities she was no longer willing to speak with them.
Roush was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked on four third-degree felony charges, including three counts of unlawful acquisition of a financial card and one count of forgery. She also faces two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of another’s identifying documents.
Officers also verified the suspect’s identity and determined Roush was a resident of Leesburg, Florida.
On Tuesday, the Washington County Attorney’s Office filed formal charges against Roush who was released from jail on Wednesday. She is scheduled to make an initial appearance in 5th District Court on Feb. 28.
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