On Wednesday, February 28, 2024, around 1:30 p.m., deputies responded to reports that Wesley Ranew, a former employee of the TA Travel Center, was stealing from the store.
When deputies arrived, they were given surveillance footage of the incident. In the footage, Ranew can be seen taking a pair of shoes off the rack, placing them in his pants, and leaving the store.
A BOLO was issued for the vehicle Ranew was seen leaving the store in, and deputies quickly located the vehicle nearby. When deputies made contact with the occupants of the vehicle, they saw Ranew sitting in the back seat.
All the occupants were removed from the vehicle, and K-9 Rocky was deployed to search for the odor of narcotics inside the vehicle. K-9 Rocky gave a positive alert to narcotics being inside the vehicle, and deputies conducted a search of the vehicle.
During the search, deputies located an Acetaminophen / Oxycodone Hydrochloride pill in a container near the passenger seat of the vehicle where Meggon Gardner was sitting.
Deputies also located approximately 1.9 grams of synthetic cannabinoids, approximately 1.9 grams of methamphetamine, and several other pressed pills that could not be tested due to the possibility of them containing fentanyl.
Ranew was arrested and is being charged with Retail Theft, Possession of Methamphetamine, and Violation of Probation.
Gardner was arrested and is being charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance without a Prescription.
