Janie Beth Covington, 33, is waking up in a Nashville jail this morning, after admitted to selling counterfeit drugs during a shoplifting arrest on Tuesday.
Late Tuesday evening, Covington chose the Walmart at 2232 Gallatin in Madison to attempt to shoplift. What she didn’t know, was that Harry Donnelly, one of the most successful loss prevention agents in the city for arrests and prosecutions, was working that night. He observed Janie Covington grab $40 worth of clothes, put some of them on, and conceal the remainder in a bag, before she attempted to leave the store. As she exited, store security detained her, and called MNPD, which is when things got interesting, and her night turned from a simple misdemeanor to a serious felony.
During a search, incident to the arrest, police found syringes and drugs, but also some other items, packaged in plastic. Found were fiber powder, and a joint compound for horses. She admitted to the officer that she and her boyfriend package the powders and compounds to look like narcotics, and sell them around town for money, telling people they are narcotic drugs.
Janie Covington was charged with felony sell/deliver/distribution of a counterfeit controlled substance, theft of merchandise, possession without prescription, and drug paraphernalia. She remains in jail on a $11,500 bond.
