‘Pill Mill’ owner apprehended in Florida
By J.J. KINDRED | (jj.kindred@thedailytimes.com)
Tamral (Tammy) Guzman, the former owner of the Maryville Pain Management Clinic who was convicted in U.S. District Court almost a month ago on 57 counts of drug and money laundering charges, was apprehended by deputy U.S. Marshals Wednesday morning in Hollywood, Fla.
According to Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Warren Mays, Guzman, 42, was caught as she walked from a Hollywood hotel where she and her boyfriend, Brian Hatcher, were allegedly staying.
Mays said the U.S. Marshals Service’s Florida Regional Task Force set up surveillance cameras Tuesday evening after the Smoky Mountain Fugitive Task Force and the Blount County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the location, after close to a month’s investigation.
“We had been feeding them information ever since she fled,” Mays told reporters during a press conference Wednesday morning. “We’ve known from the beginning since she fled her trial that she had fled to Florida. We have been tracking her and gathering information. We had enough to where we had a location, and began a surveillance last night where we identified an area where she might be.
“Guzman was seen this morning as she walked on the boardwalk in Hollywood towards the beach, and she was arrested there this morning,” Mays added.
Hatcher had a state warrant for violation of probation, but prosecutors in Blount County have not yet filed an extradition warrant. He was briefly detained but was released soon after, according to Mays.
Investigators were tipped off that Hatcher had gotten a job at a restaurant in Hollywood, and were under the impression that Guzman may be nearby, Mays said.
“We had some good information and a good tip,” Mays said. “We began surveillance and it was confirmed that Hatcher was working at this restaurant. The surveillance saw her last night, and they was pretty sure that they had her. It led right to a motel, but it wasn’t certain that’s where she was living, They felt uncomfortable in taking a chance that they might miss her. They went ahead and set up a surveillance this morning, and sure enough it worked out.”
Mays said that Guzman was arrested without incident, and she will make an official appearance in Florida before a U.S. magistrate there.
“She’ll be appointed a lawyer and will be entitled to a legal hearing,” Mays said. “She’s already fled while she was on bond in a major federal case, so they will keep her in custody to transport her from south Florida back to Knoxville.”
Mays said it will be up to the prosecutors as to whether there will be additional charges for fleeing her trial, but she will definitely be present for face her upcoming sentence for her conviction. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 20, 2013.
