Unlicensed West Rutland tattoo team facing criminal charges
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By Alan J. Keays Rutland Herald - Published: November 21, 2007
A husband-and-wife tattooing team from West Rutland is facing criminal charges in connection with the alleged operation of an unlicensed tattoo business that contributed to an outbreak of bacterial infections, state investigators said this week.
Michael C. Mills, 30, and his wife, Tiffany D. Mills, 27, both recently received citations to appear in Rutland District Court at a later date for an arraignment on criminal charges of unlicensed practice of tattooing, according to Christopher Winters, director of the state Office of Professional Regulation.
The charges are the culmination of a state investigation that began earlier this fall.
"I'm not sure how many counts of unlicensed practice would be involved, those charges have not yet been drafted," Winters said Monday, "but they have been cited into court."
The charge of unlicensed practice of tattooing, a misdemeanor, carries a maximum penalty of up to a year in prison and a fine of $5,000, per offense.
Prosecutors within the state OPR will be handling the case, Winters said.
Meanwhile, the couple did make an appearance Monday in Rutland District Court, each facing a misdemeanor charge of cocaine possession stemming from a traffic stop by Vermont State Police in September on North Main Street in Rutland.
According to court records, police stopped the vehicle for having only one working headlight. Police later obtained a warrant to search the vehicle and found less than 1 gram of crack cocaine inside.
The Mills pleaded innocent to the cocaine charges Monday and were released on conditions, court records stated. The charge of misdemeanor cocaine possession carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail, if convicted.
The Mills' tattooing operation was discovered after three of their clients sought treatment at Rutland Regional Medical Center for bacterial infections as a result of the tattoos they had received, officials said.
Two were treated and released from the Rutland hospital within hours. The third required a two-week stay at the hospital. In addition, that person may have been in danger of losing his life when the infection spread to his heart, according to an affidavit filed by state investigators in Rutland District Court.
The infection that all three suffered from is known as or MRSA, or methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus — an antibiotic resistant version of the more treatable staph bacteria.
In late October, state investigators searched the couple's apartment and reported seizing tattoo-making equipment, including needles, sterile patches, and a tattoo gun, according to court records.
A state investigator wrote in an affidavit filed in Rutland District Court in support of the search warrant that the couple charged a woman $40 for three tattoos that both Michael and Tiffany Mills worked on.
That woman would later come down with MRSA, the affidavit stated.
Contact Alan J. Keays at alan.keays@rutlandherald.com.
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