Lodi police arrest two Stockton residents for allegedly trying to fill fake prescriptions

It took a couple trips to Lodi pharmacies, but luck ran out Monday evening for two people trying to fill bogus prescriptions: They were arrested and jailed on more than $500,000 bail each.

Bradley Porter, 48, and Renee Racho-Tafoya, 34, of Stockton, are now in the San Joaquin County Jail, where they are being held on suspicion of prescription forgery, fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance and conspiracy, according to Lodi police.

Porter was allegedly carrying a list of doctors, pharmacies and a type of script to use when calling in prescriptions for narcotics used as pain relievers, according to a Lodi police report.

The plan was tried at two Lodi pharmacies, but both suspected fraud. One employee told police that he suspected fraud as soon as he heard a voice mail claiming to be from a Stockton doctor — because the employee knows the real doctor's voice so well.

Porter also faces allegations of representing himself as a doctor to get a controlled substance, as well as possessing a drug without a prescription. Just to add to matters, he is accused of violating his parole from prison, meaning that he is jailed without bail.

Lodi police had gotten several calls Monday from local pharmacies, reporting suspicious calls to fill prescriptions. Then, at 6:05 p.m., Longs Drugs, 1000 W. Kettleman Lane, reported that someone had just arrived to pick up the prescription. The suspect left before police arrived.

At 6:44 p.m., police were called from Walgreen's, 75 N. Ham Lane, where someone in the drive-thru pharmacy was trying to pick up a prescription. The suspects left but police dispatchers broadcast a vehicle description, and Officer Hettie Schaeffer soon spotted the green Chevrolet Suburban at Ham Lane and Lodi Avenue, according to the police report.

Racho-Tafoya, who told officers that she had left her four children home alone, allegedly denied knowing about the fake prescriptions but acknowledged that she had previously driven Porter to various Stockton pharmacies, the police report said. Officers contacted both her mother and law enforcement in Stockton to check on the woman's children.

Both are expected to appear today in Lodi court.