Florida Inmate Busted for Sneaking "Breath Strip" Heroin Into Jail Under Postage Stamps

Never doubt a Floridian's ingenuity for breaking the law. David Michael Gavin, 30, ran a successful drug ring inside of the Pinellas County Jail, and managed to sneak the drugs in using a pretty ingenious scheme. Suboxone is a heroine-like opioid usually used to treat addiction. The substance can be...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

August 22, 2013

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Never doubt a Floridian's ingenuity for breaking the law.

David Michael Gavin, 30, ran a successful drug ring inside of the Pinellas County Jail, and managed to sneak the drugs in using a pretty ingenious scheme. Suboxone is a heroine-like opioid usually used to treat addiction. The substance can be made into tiny breath strip-like sheets. Gavin had his girlfriend send the strips through the mail into the prison by hiding them behind postage stamps.

According to a press release, Gavin was about to be transferred from the Tampa-area jail to Jefferson County Jail in the Panhandle. He begin asking every deputy and employee he saw for his mail, and obviously raised suspicion.

Staff started monitoring his mail and found thin orange sheets hidden under the stamps. The substance tested positive for Suboxone. Similar mail was being sent to his cellmate, 30-year-old Jermonte Rushing.

An investigation found that the two were cutting up the sheets into five doses each and selling them for $20-a-pop.

Gavin's girlfriend, Kaitlyn Pergola, 29, is alleged to have sent the mail to both. All three are now charged with introduction/possession of contraband in a county detention facility. Pergola also faces charges of doctor shopping.

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