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Pharmacy Thieves Target Three Sacramento Stores In One Night

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Police are looking for the suspects involved in three pharmacy burglaries that occurred only miles apart Thursday morning.

The first happened on J Street at 4 a.m., the second a few blocks away on J Street, and the third in South Land Park.

At least two of the three had prescription drugs stolen.

"They were not successful, so they went down to Midtown Pharmacy," said Clint Hopkins, owner of Pucci's Pharmacy on J Street.

The thieves attempted to pry open the doors to his store, and it was all caught on surveillance video, but after a minute or two gave up.

Pucci's is the oldest pharmacy in Sacramento. Hopkins said after getting hit last year, they were ready.

"All the C2 drugs are in a safe. Even if you broke in here at night you're not going to get anything because it's all locked up," he said.

Plus, the steel doors they had installed paid off.

But others weren't so lucky.

Less than a mile away, not even metal bars could stop these crooks who got away with loads of drugs.

"It's upsetting; it's concerning that people are getting burglarized," Hopkins said.

In all three incidents, police said the thieves were at the location for less than 10 minutes.

"They're pretty quick. They're in and out in three minutes or less," he said.

Investigators are now trying to determine who did it.

"They're looking at all aspects of these three burglaries to see if there is a connection," said Sgt. Vance Chandler with Sacramento Police.

While Hopkins' pharmacy dodged the thieves this time, he fears an uptick in narcotic burglaries could cost his bottom line.

"Financially it's troubling for a business, but especially an independent business like ours to be broken into because that's a lot of money for us," he said, which will ultimately cost his customers more.

These burglaries follow a spike in pharmacy robberies in Sacramento County back in December.

Authorities are still investigating those robberies, and say in each case, the suspects took off with prescription drugs. So far, no arrests have been made.

However, officers did make an arrest in connection with a Citrus Heights pharmacy robbery that turned deadly.

Back in November investigators say Kimani Randolph robbed a rite aid on Auburn Boulevard.

During the robbery, 87-year-old Marilyn Stribley was knocked unconscious as the suspects ran off. She later died from her injuries.

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