Two charged with passing fraudulent prescriptions in Middletown

Two Pennsylvania men were arrested Feb. 26 for trying to pass fraudulent prescriptions at two different Middletown pharmacies.

At around 6 p.m. Middletown Police were called to the Rite Aid on West Main Street where they said Lester Howell, 33, of Collingdale, Pa., tried to pass a fake prescription to the pharmacy.

As officers arrived, the suspect was leaving the parking lot in a car with Pennsylvania tags. Police stopped the vehicle and identified Lester Howell as the driver.

Assisting units were called to the Rite Aid pharmacy as the second suspect, Johnny Howell, 25, of Aldan, Pa., attempted to pick up the filled, fraudulent prescription from the store's drive thru, police said.

Johnny Howell was then taken into custody by Middletown Police.

Through further investigation, police learned that Lester Howell had tried to pass a fraudulent prescription at the Acme Pharmacy on East Main Street earlier that evening.

Lester Howell had left the store after he was questioned by store staff.

Lester Howell was charged with two counts of obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, forgery, and fraud.

He was committed to the Howard Young Correctional Institute on a $7,000 secured bond.

Johnny Howell was charged with one count of obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, and forgery, and was committed to the Howard Young Correctional Institute on a $5,500 secured bond.

Middletown Police are continuing this investigation with additional charges pending for both men, who they said appear to be connected to at least four other incidents like this that have occurred in the Middletown area in the past four months.