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Two locals arrested in major steroid bust
By Charles D. Perry The Herald
(Published September 23‚ 2005)
Two local men were arrested this week after authorities say they caught them with a shipment of illegal anabolic steroids shipped from Thailand.
The arrests mark the biggest steroids bust in the York County drug unit's seven-year history, said commander Marvin Brown.
They come at a time when steroid use has become a hot-button issue across the country and in South Carolina.
Michael Lewis Rea, 41, of 1922 Paces Landing, Apt. 2326, in Rock Hill, and Lucas Daniel Case, 31, of 1107 Palmyra Drive, in Tega Cay, were arrested Wednesday evening in a parking lot outside a local gym, according to a York County Sheriff's Office report. Brown said both men are bodybuilders.
The men ordered the steroids through the Internet, but U.S. Customs officials in San Francisco discovered the drugs during a routine inspection, Brown said.
Customs officials in Columbia alerted local agents that the package was bound for Fort Mill, and drug unit officers staked out the Fort Mill Post Office for two days before the arrests, Brown said.
When officers saw Case pick up the package Wednesday, they followed him to the gym's parking lot where he met Rea. There officers seized 986 dosage units of anabolic steroids and arrested both men at 6:46 p.m., Brown said.
After the arrest, officers searched each man's home. At Case's, they found 35 dosage units of anabolic steroids, the report said. At Rea's, they found 1,405 dosage units of anabolic steroids, the report stated.
Each man was charged with two counts of possession of anabolic steroids.
Both men are bodybuilders, but neither works at a gym. As far as investigators know, the men only used the gym's parking lot as a meeting place, Brown said.
The men told drug officers that the steroids were for personal use, Brown said.
Each man was released from jail Thursday morning on $2,000 bond, according to York County Detention Center officials.
Hot button issue
Steroids have become a hot topic in recent months, particularly among athletes. High profile baseball players have admitted using steroids, and Major League Baseball developed a new steroid testing policy.
On Wednesday, a Columbia doctor who was accused in a television report of writing steroid prescriptions for three Carolina Panthers was charged with 29 counts of distributing steroids and human growth hormones.
The steroids issue has also affected younger athletes.
Nearly 7 percent of South Carolina's high school boys admitted using illegal anabolic steroids in a 2003 survey, which was slightly higher than the national average, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control.
"Is it (steroid usage) on the rise?" Brown said. "I think it is. You just go on a Web site and order them and they ship it to you. It's that easy."
Two locals arrested in major steroid bust
By Charles D. Perry The Herald
(Published September 23‚ 2005)
Two local men were arrested this week after authorities say they caught them with a shipment of illegal anabolic steroids shipped from Thailand.
The arrests mark the biggest steroids bust in the York County drug unit's seven-year history, said commander Marvin Brown.
They come at a time when steroid use has become a hot-button issue across the country and in South Carolina.
Michael Lewis Rea, 41, of 1922 Paces Landing, Apt. 2326, in Rock Hill, and Lucas Daniel Case, 31, of 1107 Palmyra Drive, in Tega Cay, were arrested Wednesday evening in a parking lot outside a local gym, according to a York County Sheriff's Office report. Brown said both men are bodybuilders.
The men ordered the steroids through the Internet, but U.S. Customs officials in San Francisco discovered the drugs during a routine inspection, Brown said.
Customs officials in Columbia alerted local agents that the package was bound for Fort Mill, and drug unit officers staked out the Fort Mill Post Office for two days before the arrests, Brown said.
When officers saw Case pick up the package Wednesday, they followed him to the gym's parking lot where he met Rea. There officers seized 986 dosage units of anabolic steroids and arrested both men at 6:46 p.m., Brown said.
After the arrest, officers searched each man's home. At Case's, they found 35 dosage units of anabolic steroids, the report said. At Rea's, they found 1,405 dosage units of anabolic steroids, the report stated.
Each man was charged with two counts of possession of anabolic steroids.
Both men are bodybuilders, but neither works at a gym. As far as investigators know, the men only used the gym's parking lot as a meeting place, Brown said.
The men told drug officers that the steroids were for personal use, Brown said.
Each man was released from jail Thursday morning on $2,000 bond, according to York County Detention Center officials.
Hot button issue
Steroids have become a hot topic in recent months, particularly among athletes. High profile baseball players have admitted using steroids, and Major League Baseball developed a new steroid testing policy.
On Wednesday, a Columbia doctor who was accused in a television report of writing steroid prescriptions for three Carolina Panthers was charged with 29 counts of distributing steroids and human growth hormones.
The steroids issue has also affected younger athletes.
Nearly 7 percent of South Carolina's high school boys admitted using illegal anabolic steroids in a 2003 survey, which was slightly higher than the national average, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control.
"Is it (steroid usage) on the rise?" Brown said. "I think it is. You just go on a Web site and order them and they ship it to you. It's that easy."
