OFFICIALS SAY CASHIERS FOIL SUSPECTS' PLAN TO MAKE METH

FLORENCE - Authorities were praising the work of Wal-Mart cashiers for a
weekend arrest after they spotted drug-making products coming through their
checkout lines. On Monday, Florence police officers identified one of two
people accused of buying ingredients used in the production of
methamphetamines. Jessica Lynn Travis, 19, and a 43-year-old unidentified
man were charged with attempting to manufacture a controlled substance,
possession of controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Both people, believed to be from Florida, were being held in the Lauderdale
County Detention Center with bail set a $28,500. Florence police Capt.
Spence Butler said the suspects were uncooperative. He said officers were
checking driver's license records and information from the National Crime
Information Center to positively identify the 43-year-old man. The arrests
occurred Friday night after Travis and the man bought several items at the
Florence Wal-Mart. Store employees contacted a Florence police officer
working security at the store, Butler said. Officer Pat Wilson asked the
couple for identification as they were entering their car. Inside their
car, police discovered numerous items used in the production of
methamphetamines - containers, notes on how to cook meth, 50 rounds of
ammunition and 37 different car titles from different states, each with
different names. Wilson, the arresting officer, had taught a drug class for
Wal-Mart employees in August, Butler said. "He taught them what to look
for," Wilson said. "They played a big role in seeing these items." Police
across the country have been attacking the growing drug problems by not
only focusing on meth labs but also arresting people purchasing the
ingredients. Stores and pharmacies have become battlegrounds for police
since the drug's ingredients include substances found in over-the-counter
cold and allergy medications. Area stores have been sites of similar
arrests this past year by police and members of the Lauderdale County Drug
Task Force. Florence Wal-Mart co-manager Drew Stevens said he was proud of
his employees' actions during the weekend. "Wal-Mart associates are very
involved with the community," Stevens said. "Our associates are willing to
do anything to help police and the community."