Prosecutors: 2 men busted for trying to pass off Tylenol, drywall as real drugs

WAUKESHA -- A drug bust in Waukesha yields Tylenol and drywall. Prosecutors say when authorities caught up to the two suspected drug dealers, they were caught trying to sell fake drugs instead of the real thing.

The accused are Jahceire Vance Mckee and Timothy Owens Rice. The pair are charged with the following criminal counts:

Jahceire Vance Mckee

According to the criminal complaint in this case, detectives were contacted by confidential informants (CI) on four separate occasions from July 19 through Sept. 10. The CIs in each instance noted they could purchase drugs for a price from Vance Mckee. The items noted are listed below:

Timothy Owens Rice

In each of those first three meetings, the complaint says the CI was provided with buy money, the transaction was completed, and the detective handling the operation was able to positively identify the items purchased.

The complaint indicates on Sept. 10, a CI indicated he/she "could purchase 300 tablets of Ecstasy and 7 grams of crack cocaine for $975" from Vance Mckee. Like the previous three instances, a deal was set-up, the complaint indicates. But this time, the complaint says a tactical team moved in after Vance Mckee made the exchange and got into the passenger seat of a vehicle driven by Owens Rice. Both Vance Mckee and Owens Rice were taken into custody.

According to the criminal complaint, on this last drug deal, the CI "turned over a plastic corner cut baggie containing what appeared to be Tylenol and other miscellaneous pills and handed another bag that did not appear to be crack cocaine but appeared to be drywall." Officers who were with Vance Mckee and Owens Rice also "found a Styrofoam box with Tylenol pills within it as well as other fake crack cocaine in the vehicle."

When interviewed by police, the complaint says Owens Rice was going to get $300 to $400 to engage in the theft that happened on Sept. 10. A detective reviewed video of the deal and was "able to positively identify the defendant as the person who provided Tylenol pills instead of MDMA and drywall instead of crack cocaine to the CI."

Prosecutors say if convicted of all charges, it is Vance Mckee that could face decades behind bars.

"Between the counts, he's facing 60 plus years of just confinement time, if he's convicted of all of these matters," said the prosecutor.

Both Vance Mckee and Owens Rice made their initial appearances in court on Thursday, Sept. 12. Cash bond for each was set at $5,000. A bail/bond hearing for Vance Mckee was set for Friday afternoon, Sept. 13. Owens Rice is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 10.