Subscribe Login
Jamaica Observer
ePaper
The Edge 105 FM Radio Fyah 105 FM
Jamaica Observer
ePaper
The Edge 105 FM Radio Fyah 105 FM
    • Home
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Cartoon
      • International News
      • Central
      • North & East
      • Western
      • Environment
      • Health
      • #
    • Business
      • Business Bites
      • Social Love
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Basketball
      • Cricket
      • Horse Racing
      • World Champs
      • Commonwealth Games
      • FIFA World Cup
      • Olympics
      • #
    • Videos
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Movies
      • Art & Culture
      • Bookends
      • #
    • Lifestyle
      • Page2
      • Food
      • Tuesday Style
      • Food Awards
      • JOL Takes Style Out
      • Design Week JA
      • Black Friday
      • #
    • All Woman
      • Home
      • Relationships
      • Features
      • Fashion
      • Fitness
      • Rights
      • Parenting
      • Advice
      • #
    • Obits
    • Classifieds
      • Employment
      • Property
      • Motor Vehicles
      • Place an Ad
      • Obituaries
    • More
      • Games
      • Elections
      • Jobs & Careers
      • Study Centre
      • Jnr Study Centre
      • Letters
      • Columns
      • Advertorial
      • Editorial
      • Supplements
      • Webinars
    • Home
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Cartoon
      • International News
      • Central
      • North & East
      • Western
      • Environment
      • Health
      • #
    • Business
      • Business Bites
      • Social Love
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Basketball
      • Cricket
      • Horse Racing
      • World Champs
      • Commonwealth Games
      • FIFA World Cup
      • Olympics
      • #
    • Videos
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Movies
      • Art & Culture
      • Bookends
      • #
    • Lifestyle
      • Page2
      • Food
      • Tuesday Style
      • Food Awards
      • JOL Takes Style Out
      • Design Week JA
      • Black Friday
      • #
    • All Woman
      • Home
      • Relationships
      • Features
      • Fashion
      • Fitness
      • Rights
      • Parenting
      • Advice
      • #
    • Obits
    • Classifieds
      • Employment
      • Property
      • Motor Vehicles
      • Place an Ad
      • Obituaries
    • More
      • Games
      • Elections
      • Jobs & Careers
      • Study Centre
      • Jnr Study Centre
      • Letters
      • Columns
      • Advertorial
      • Editorial
      • Supplements
      • Webinars
  • Home
  • News
    • International News
  • Latest
  • Business
    • Business Bites
  • Cartoon
  • Games
  • Food Awards
  • Health
  • Entertainment
    • Bookends
  • Regional
  • Sports
    • Sports
    • World Cup
    • World Champs
    • Olympics
  • Videos
  • Career & Education
  • Classifieds
  • All Woman
  • Environment
  • Webinars
  • More
    • Football
    • Elections
    • Letters
    • Advertorial
    • Columns
    • Editorial
    • Supplements
  • Epaper
  • Design Week
Former Miss Jamaica runner-up accused of cocaine smuggling
Marsha Gay Reynolds
News
March 24, 2016

Former Miss Jamaica runner-up accused of cocaine smuggling

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A JetBlue flight attendant accused of using her credentials to attempt to get 70 pounds of cocaine through airport security in Los Angeles before flinging off her heels and fleeing, has been arrested in New York, authorities said.

Marsha Gay Reynolds surrendered Wednesday to federal authorities at John F Kennedy International Airport, though it wasn’t immediately clear how she reached New York, federal officials said.

Reynolds, a New York resident, was expected to be in federal court in Brooklyn on Thursday, according to US Attorney’s spokesman Thom Mrozek.

Transportation Security Administration officials asked Reynolds to step aside for a random security screening Friday, authorities said. Reynolds went to a secondary screening area but quickly dropped her bag, ditched a pair of Gucci heels and fled barefoot downward on an upward-moving escalator, Marshall McClain, president of the union representing LAX airport police officers, said Monday.

Reynolds was charged with cocaine possession with intent to distribute. It was unclear if she yet had an attorney.

Mrozek said prosecutors believe reports that Reynolds was a runner-up in Miss Jamaica World 2008. New York University lists a Marsha-Gay Reynolds as having been on the school’s 2004 women’s track and field team, though it wasn’t immediately clear if that was the same Reynolds arrested Wednesday.

On Friday, Reynolds arrived at an LAX checkpoint in Terminal 4 wearing jeans, heels and a black suit jacket, carrying her “known crew member badge,” according to an FBI affidavit in support of the charge against Reynolds. It wasn’t immediately clear whether she was on duty at the time.

When Reynolds was chosen for a random security screening, TSA Officer Jamie Samuel said the flight attendant became nervous and began looking around before pulling out her cellphone and making a call, according to the affidavit.

Samuel reported that Reynolds was talking on the phone in a foreign language as she was being taken to a secondary screening area, the affidavit says.

Once in the secondary screening area, TSA Officer Charles James asked for her identification.

“At this time, Reynolds dropped her carry-on luggage, removed her shoes and began to run away,” according to the affidavit.

James saw Reynolds run down an upward-moving escalator and out of the terminal, the affidavit says, adding that the officer didn’t pursue her because her abandoned luggage was his main concern.

LAX police soon after found 11 packages of cocaine wrapped in green cellophane and labeled, “BIG Ranch” inside one of the bags Reynolds had left behind, the affidavit says.

The cocaine weighed just over 68 pounds. Wholesale, the drugs would be worth about $750,000 in Los Angeles, said Special Agent Timothy Massino, a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

On the streets of Los Angeles, Massino said the retail value of the cocaine could be as high as $3 million.

Security threats from “insiders,” including airline and airport employees and workers hired by contractors, have been a focus of the TSA, particularly after the December 2014 arrest of several Delta Air Lines baggage handlers. Prosecutors allege they smuggled guns, including an AK-47, from Atlanta to New York.

The TSA has said that full screening of all employees would cost too much. Instead, the agency has urged airports to increase random screenings of workers and to keep background checks up to date.

“We will pay particular attention to the insider threat,” TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger told a Senate committee earlier this month.

{"website":"website"}{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
img img
0 Comments · Make a comment

ALSO ON JAMAICA OBSERVER

PM, Grange join Ghanaian president  for tour of Bob Marley Museum
Latest News, News
PM, Grange join Ghanaian president for tour of Bob Marley Museum
August 3, 2026
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Culture Minister Olivia Grange on Monday evening accompanied the President of Ghana, John Mahama...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
From homeless teenager to woman of faith
Latest News, News
From homeless teenager to woman of faith
Latoya Shea's bold vision to build a christ-centred school for Jamaica's most vulnerable children
August 3, 2026
At 13, Latoya Shea had no home. Today, the New York-based US Army veteran and nurse anaesthetist is pursuing a vision she believes was given to her by...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
WATCH: Waves of excitement at Old Harbour Bay Regatta on Emancipation Day
Latest News, News
WATCH: Waves of excitement at Old Harbour Bay Regatta on Emancipation Day
August 3, 2026
Sutania Beckford beamed with joy after her boat crew guided ‘Empress’ to a thrilling victory in the Yamaha Engine Race which brought an exciting close...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Cop found dead at May Pen police station
Latest News, News
Cop found dead at May Pen police station
August 3, 2026
CLARENDON, Jamaica — A police constable assigned to the transport department at the Clarendon Division was found dead with a wound to the neck inside ...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Weather disrupts Cuba’s power restoration after latest nationwide blackout
International News, Latest News, Regional
Weather disrupts Cuba’s power restoration after latest nationwide blackout
August 3, 2026
HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — Cuba on Monday began gradually restoring power after suffering another nationwide blackout, the sixth since the year began, thoug...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Haitian group condemns ‘discriminatory impact’ of US visa bond policy on Caribbean immigrants
International News, Latest News, Regional
Haitian group condemns ‘discriminatory impact’ of US visa bond policy on Caribbean immigrants
August 3, 2026
SAN DIEGO, United States (CMC) – The California-based Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) has strongly condemned the expansion of the United States (US) Vis...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Shafique, Babar lead strong Pakistan reply against West Indies
Latest News, Sports
Shafique, Babar lead strong Pakistan reply against West Indies
August 3, 2026
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (AFP) — Abdullah Shafique struck his sixth Test century, and Babar Azam closed in on a hundred as Pakistan reached ...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Holness lauds farmers for embracing technology and research
Latest News
Holness lauds farmers for embracing technology and research
Dana Malcolm | Observer Online Reporter | Malcolmd@jamaicaobserver.com 
August 3, 2026
KINGSTON, Jamaica —  Prime Minister Andrew Holness has hailed the resilience of Jamaica’s farmers, commending their increasing adoption of technology ...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
❮ ❯

Polls

HOUSE RULES

  1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper; email addresses will not be published.
  2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.
  3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.
  4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.
  5. Please don't use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed: advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.
  6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.
  7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

Recent Posts

Archives

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Tweets

Polls

Recent Posts

Archives

Logo Jamaica Observer
Breaking news from the premier Jamaican newspaper, the Jamaica Observer. Follow Jamaican news online for free and stay informed on what's happening in the Caribbean
Featured Tags
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Health
  • Auto
  • Business
  • Letters
  • Page2
  • Football
Categories
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Page2
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Page2
Ads
img
Jamaica Observer, © All Rights Reserved
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • RSS Feeds
  • Feedback
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Code of Conduct