Titanium Gear Industries Self-Destructs in Texas

The popular domestic UGL was doing brisk business until the owner got drunk and started shooting his gun from his house in the early morning hours.

Titanium Gear Industries (TGI) was a popular domestic underground laboratory (UGL) that illicitly manufactured and distributed finished injectable and oral anabolic steroids to customers residing within the United States. TGI achieved considerable success within a relatively short period of time.

TGI launched his steroid-manufacturing operation in September 2018. He gained a sizable customer base within a few short months due to his early professionalism, quality product and good customer service.

TGI’s thriving business came to an abrupt end after just 14-months on November 15, 2019. It is not unusual for UGLs to get shut down by law enforcement within 2 years. But it is highly unusual for the fatal blow to an illicit steroid operation to be entirely self-inflicted.

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Police respond to reports of multiple gunshots fired at a private residence located outside Longview.

Deputy officers with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) were dispatched to investigate a report of gunshots fired from within a Longview residence on Friday, November 15, 2019.

HCSO deputies arrived on the scene of 5859 Lansing Loop in Longview at 07:08 a.m. Sammie Vail and his wife Ashley Vail met the officers upon their arrival and told them they were not allowed to enter the premises. The deputies explained that it was their public duty to make sure no one was injured at the residence as a result of the reported shots fired.

Sammie and Ashley Vail nonetheless refused to allow the officers to enter the property. The officers quickly overcame the couple’s resistance and searched the premises only to stumble across a clandestine underground laboratory. Ashley Vail was allegedly “tazed” during the incident according to neighbor Ricky Watson who phoned in the “shots fired”. TGI’s “no-knock plan” failed miserably.

“The deputies had a duty to assure that no one had been injured at the location and entered the property,” according to HCSO Chief Deputy Brandon. “While checking for injured persons inside the residence, a room containing a Lab to manufacture steroids was located.”

Staff Reports. (November 16, 2019). 2 arrested after Harrison County Sheriff’s Office finds 40 kilos of steroids, home lab.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was notified upon the discovery. The local DEA office dispatched a team to dismantle the laboratory.

DEA agents found approximately 40 kilograms of raw anabolic steroid powders, approximately 5,000 ten-milliliter vials of injectable steroids, and an unspecified quantity of oral steroids and related drugs.

The HCSO and DEA did not identify the name of the UGL operating out of Vail’s residence. However, observant forum members quickly confirmed the fact that Sammie Vail was indeed Titanium Gear Industries.

TGI had apparently been careless with his security when posting on public steroid forums. He disclosed personally-identifiable information on at least two occasions.

TGI accidentally posted his real name in November 2018 – only a few weeks after he first started his online steroid operation. The name was disclosed in an improperly redacted lab report that he uploaded. The report was eventually removed but not before forum members learned his real-life identity.

TGI also shared photographs of his “home gym” in August 2019. The weight room was set up inside an indoor basketball gym attached to his home. Forum sleuths quickly realized that the home gym photos perfectly matched the description and photos publicly posted on the real estate websites Zillow.com and Realtor.com.

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Zillow described it as follows: “There is a breezeway that connects the home to a 1900+ sq. ft. gym equipped with basketball goals.” And Realtor.com featured a photograph that was an exact match for the ones shared by TGI.

Sammie Vail and Ashley Vail were arrested and booked in the Harrison County Jail in Marshall. The surety bond has been set at $505,000.

Sammie Vail and Ashley Vail were both charged with “interference with public duties” and “possession of a controlled substance in penalty group 3 greater than 400 grams”.

Sammie Vail was additionally charged with “public intoxication” and “unlawful carrying of handgun by license holder”.

Ashley Vail was additionally charged with “disorderly conduct” and “resisting arrest, search, or transportation”.

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