WATONGA – About $3,300 worth of prescription medication was stolen from Swann Pharmacy last Tuesday, Aug. 24, in a crime police say might be related to other break-ins across the region.
The theft occurred just before 4:30 a.m. Tuesday when someone broke through the glass front door of the pharmacy. Swann owner Mark Kourt said the thief made off with Vyvanse, generic Xanax, and hydrocodoneacetaminophen pills.
Hydrocodone is an opioid prescribed for pain relief, but prescription opioid abuse makes the pill valuable on the black market. Vyvanse is an ADHD medication, sometimes abused by college students and others to enhance focus and productivity.
Kourt told the police he was notified about the breakin by 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. “When I arrived, the east front glass door was shattered,” he wrote in a police statement. “When we surveyed the store we found that several CDS items (controlled dangerous substances) had been taken.”
Watonga Interim Police Chief Aaron Vales said the thief was captured on security footage. He said the man moved with a low crawl, likening it to a shrimp crawl from jiu jitsu.
Vales said the break-in included one man in the store and one driver. Vales believes the break-in may be related to others, and now he’s in contact with law enforcement across the region to find similar crimes and, hopefully, identify the thieves.
So far Vales has identified multiple similar crimes in Kansas, he said. In fact, Vales believes the Swann robbers may have hit a Dodge City, Kansas, pharmacy earlier that night before stealing from Swann hours later.
The reason? The robber can be seen wearing the same underwear in security footage of both break-ins. “His pants were sagging a little bit,” Vales said. The waiting vehicle is also a match.
Vales said he never would have known about the other crimes if not for the “power of social media,” where officers are sharing information and comparing notes. Law enforcement can also use resources like the Oklahoma Information Fusion Center, a central information hub ran by the State Bureau of Investigation, to compare crimes.
Vales is hoping that other agencies dealing with a similar crime will be in touch. He said the Swann break-in will perpetuate the opioid crisis that has claimed so many lives across the country in recent years.
“You’re getting people who really need the help, and then become addicted,” Vales said. “And unfortunately, these stolen drugs could lead to their demise.”
Anyone with information on the Swann break-in or related crimes can contact the Watonga Police Department at 580-623-7355.