Rx drug thief hits Bremerton pharmacies again and again
BREMERTON, Wash. -- Local pharmacies on high alert in the wake of smash-and-grab burglaries that have plagued the area.
Police have received reports of seven break-ins in the past month alone. Investigators believe the thief is stealing in order to feed a drug habit.
Boarded windows now greet customers outside the Apothecary Shoppe. Inside, owner Dennis Smith fills prescriptions while keeping an eye on surveillance cameras, and for good reason.
A thief broke into Smith's pharmacy four times last month, shattering windows and rattling nerves.
"He's going to get busted if he comes back here," he said.
The thief broke in using rocks to smash the glass and walked away with bottles of pain killers.
"Oxycontin is the drug of choice. If they can't get that, they'll get vicodin. If they can't get that, they'll get codeine," said Smith.
The Medicine Shoppe down the road got hit twice in the last month. Minutes after that shop was hit, police say the same man broke into Farrell's Pharmacy.
"It appears as though the same suspect is hitting the same pharmacies over and over, and over," said Sgt. Kevin Crane.
Crane fears the thief is doing more than feeding his drug habit; he thinks the man might be making a profit by feeding others' habits as well.
"Oxycontin has a very high value on the street," he said.
Police managed to put together a vague description of the suspect after a surveillance camera captured him in action. That camera was installed after the third break-in.
"I don't think he realized he was on camera because he didn't eve put his mask on until we had a real good shot at him," said Smith.
Smith is hoping for a speedy arrest. But to protect him in the meantime, he has added a new security glass to his shop in case the thief returns.
Police have received reports of seven break-ins in the past month alone. Investigators believe the thief is stealing in order to feed a drug habit.
Boarded windows now greet customers outside the Apothecary Shoppe. Inside, owner Dennis Smith fills prescriptions while keeping an eye on surveillance cameras, and for good reason.
A thief broke into Smith's pharmacy four times last month, shattering windows and rattling nerves.
"He's going to get busted if he comes back here," he said.
The thief broke in using rocks to smash the glass and walked away with bottles of pain killers.
"Oxycontin is the drug of choice. If they can't get that, they'll get vicodin. If they can't get that, they'll get codeine," said Smith.
The Medicine Shoppe down the road got hit twice in the last month. Minutes after that shop was hit, police say the same man broke into Farrell's Pharmacy.
"It appears as though the same suspect is hitting the same pharmacies over and over, and over," said Sgt. Kevin Crane.
Crane fears the thief is doing more than feeding his drug habit; he thinks the man might be making a profit by feeding others' habits as well.
"Oxycontin has a very high value on the street," he said.
Police managed to put together a vague description of the suspect after a surveillance camera captured him in action. That camera was installed after the third break-in.
"I don't think he realized he was on camera because he didn't eve put his mask on until we had a real good shot at him," said Smith.
Smith is hoping for a speedy arrest. But to protect him in the meantime, he has added a new security glass to his shop in case the thief returns.