Police arrested a Montgomery County drug dealer who they say stole prescriptions from doctors and used a large alligator to intimidate his potential customers and enemies.
Montgomery County’s Narcotics Enforcement Team (NET) and Drug Task Force began investigating 36-year-old Izek Tuggle of Norristown in July.
Police say that Tuggle stole prescription pads from local doctors through his cleaning business “TLC Cleaning Concepts.” Tuggle had contracts to clean four doctors’ offices at Mercy Suburban Hospital in East Norriton.
Police say Tuggle forged the doctors’ signatures and hired others to pass the signatures to local pharmacies in order to get Percocet pills. Tuggle would then sell the Percocet as well as marijuana in his apartment on the 600 block of Corson Street.
Police say Tuggle used a handgun and a 4 ½-foot long alligator in his living room to intimidate both potential customers and any armed intruders.
On Friday around 6:20 a.m., members of NET and Montgomery County’s drug task force executed a search warrant at Tuggle’s apartment.
Investigators say they found Tuggle standing inside his living room with a small pit-bull. Police also found his alligator inside a cage, another gator in a spare bedroom and a large scorpion inside an aquarium.
Aside from the animals, police also found $1200 in U.S. currency, a loaded 9mm handgun, multiple stolen cell phones, stolen prescription pads, two fraudulent written prescriptions, three live marijuana plants, several prescription bottles filled with pills and other drug paraphernalia.
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Tuggle was arrested and arraigned for drug trafficking offenses, forgery and theft. He was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of posting $100,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is set for August 29 at 10 a.m.
