Homepage / Nashville News
E-Mail News Alerts
Get breaking news and daily headlines.
Browse all e-mail newsletters
Related To Story

Store Owner Suspected In Steroid Probe

Man Owns Nutritional Supply Store In Hermitage

POSTED: 5:17 pm CDT May 7, 2008
UPDATED: 8:07 pm CDT May 7, 2008

The I-Team has learned where some of the steroids that started a federal probe are coming from.

Video: I-Team: Business Owner Suspected In Steroid Probe

The federal investigation is seeking to determine if law enforcement officers have been involved in the illegal sale, manufacture and use of steroids.

The I-Team has also learned how many people may be indicted and why a local businessman is a suspect.

Police officers, state troopers and an athletic trainer have been caught up in the investigation into the use and sale of steroids.

But the I-Team reports that sources inside the investigation said Mark Johnson, the owner of a nutritional supply store in Hermitage, has been named as a suspect in the investigation.

Stephen Reece, who is one of the Metro police officers being investigated, used to co-own the store with Johnson. Reece has been decommissioned during the investigation. He said he severed his ties with the store last year.

"Mr. Reece has absolutely no knowledge of any unlawful activities that occurred in the store while he had ownership interest," said Reece’s attorney Worrick Robinson.

While Johnson said nothing illegal was ever sold out of the store, investigators said they have their doubts.

Johnson confirms that Scott Haines was a customer. Haines, a personal trainer, was arrested and accused of selling steroids out of his car and home.

Investigators said they are looking to find out if Haines ever received steroids from the store and sold them to police in middle Tennessee.

The I-Team reported that it also learned from investigators that some of the steroids are coming from China.

The drugs are manufactured there, investigators said, and supplies have been sent from China to middle Tennessee so the drugs can also be manufactured there.

Though he's been temporarily stripped of his badge and linked to a store suspected of selling the drugs, Robinson said Reece is innocent.

"We really expect after these investigations are finalized that his name will be cleared," Robinson said.

The I-Team also reported that investigators believe dozens of people in middle Tennessee will eventually be indicted in the case, but there is no timetable on when that will happen.

Reece's attorney said that demands from the police department prompted Reece to no longer own the store.

His attorney also said if anything illegal happened after Reece left the store, his client doesn't know anything about it.

Metro and Murfreesboro police officers and state troopers have all been investigated in the steroid probe.


Sponsored Links

Links We Like
Sponsored Content
Learn the top five signs of common mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and bipolar disorder. More

To get the most out of your remodel, check out these 10 home updates that have the biggest payoffs when it comes time to sell your home. More

Find out what a sputtering economy and an increasingly difficult to crack job market means to you. More

Curious about what homes near you are in foreclosure? Want to be notified when a home enters foreclosure? Get all of that and more here. More

Health Topics & Information

10 expert tips to promote a healthier heart. Learn why the “full-fat” version of food is often better than the “low-fat” version. More