‘Breaking Bad’ Plan Crashed
Investigators found a large collection of chemicals and other materials inside the trunk of a car that crashed Thursday on Highway 7 near Velma.
VELMA – Coffeeville resident Caleb Horton was headed home from work last Thursday when an oncoming car suddenly crossed into his lane on Highway 7 near Velma.
Horton swerved to avoid the northbound Toyota, then watched as the car left the highway, went airborne and landed in the trees.
He called 911 and stopped to check on the driver. It didn’t take long to realize something wasn’t right.
What started as a single-vehicle crash would soon turn into an unusual drug investigation involving a car packed with chemicals, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and what investigators say were plans to manufacture methamphetamine.
Marcello Ronaldovich Vasilieva Molluzzo, 23, a Florida resident reportedly traveling to North Mississippi, remains in the Yalobusha County Detention Center following the crash. He is charged with possession of precursors and possession of more than 250 pseudoephedrine pills.
Sheriff Jerimaine Gooch said investigators believe fumes from the chemicals inside the vehicle may have affected Molluzzo and contributed to the crash.
“With all of the odors and stuff that were inside the car, the fumes alone had to be messing with him,” Gooch told the Herald.
After deputies arrived, Molluzzo reportedly told them there was marijuana in the vehicle. Chief Deputy Thomas West said no marijuana was found.
But when a deputy began checking the vehicle, he detected a strong chemical odor and spotted a collection of suspicious materials.
Marcello Ronaldovich Vasilieva Molluzzo remains in custody.
“He called me and said he didn’t know what he had, but it ain’t good. It ain’t normal,” West said.
When the trunk was opened, West said Molluzzo came toward deputies and told them he could explain what they were seeing.
The Toyota was towed to the Yalobusha County Sheriff’s Department, where investigators obtained a search warrant and called MBN agents trained to handle drug labs.
The search uncovered approximately 331 dosage units of pseudoephedrine, 15 pounds of ammonium nitrate in instant cold packs, 22 cans of ether and approximately two pounds of MSM, a substance commonly used as a cutting agent.
Investigators also found lithium batteries, iodine, lye, muriatic acid, potassium nitrate and an assortment of flammable solvents and chemicals.
In all, investigators reported finding approximately eight gallons of liquid chemicals, in addition to the 22 cans of ether.
No finished methamphetamine was found. But Sheriff Gooch said the investigation took another turn when investigators began examining Molluzzo’s cellphone.
According to the sheriff, the phone contained information about different methods of making methamphetamine, including recipes and extraction processes.
“There was a lot of recipes, different extraction processes, different ways to, you know, shake-and-bake meth or lab-cook meth,” Gooch said.
Gooch said investigators also found communications with another person discussing plans to manufacture methamphetamine.
Their plan, Gooch said, was described in the messages as doing it “Breaking Bad style,” a reference to the television series about a chemistry teacher who becomes a methamphetamine manufacturer.
Gooch said investigators believe Molluzzo had collected the materials with plans to bring them to North Mississippi and begin making methamphetamine.
“He had no finished product,” Gooch said. “But he had everything needed.”
MBN agents collected samples of the suspected materials, which will be submitted to the Mississippi Crime Laboratory for analysis.
The investigation remains ongoing. Molluzzo remains in custody on a $30,000 bond.
Other arrests reported by the sheriff:
• Melissa Johnson of Jackson was arrested Aug. 20 on Highway 330 for receiving stolen property. Sheriff Jerimaine Gooch said someone reported a woman beside a disabled vehicle near the Tillatoba truck stop. Deputies ran the vehicle and learned it had reportedly been stolen in Jackson.
• Curtis Denley was picked up from the Grenada County Jail on Aug. 18 after deputies arrested him earlier in the month. Denley had a capias stemming from a previous Yalobusha County grand jury indictment for the sale of methamphetamine.
• Dustin Golden of Coffeeville was arrested Aug. 17 on Highway 330 on a warrant for embezzlement under contract.
• Rita Little of Oakland was arrested Aug. 16 for breaking and entering and trespassing involving apartments in Oakland.
Bailey Prince of Water Valley was arrested Aug. 9 for enticement of a child to meet for sexual purposes and dissemination of sexually oriented material to a person under 18. Deputies launched an investigation after receiving information from a family member of the alleged victim. Prince was arrested by Lafayette County deputies and later returned to Yalobusha County.
Archie Rucker of Coffeeville was arrested Aug. 6. Gooch said deputies and Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agents were looking for Rucker when they encountered him on Tennessee Street in Coffeeville. Rucker had an outstanding drug warrant and was also charged with possession of methamphetamine after deputies allegedly found the drug in his possession.
Curtis Sea was arrested Aug. 5 on an MBN warrant stemming from a narcotics sale case.
Kenya Anthony Rucker was arrested Aug. 5 at the Mississippi Department of Corrections office on Main Street in Water Valley on a capias stemming from a March grand jury indictment. Rucker was indicted on two counts of possession of between two and 10 grams of crack cocaine. The charges stem from alleged incidents in April 2024.
David Trace Schmitz of Water Valley was arrested Aug. 5 at a Water Valley residence for disturbing the peace and possession of more than two grams of methamphetamine.
