Pharmacists concerned by recent robbery

Police say a recent armed robbery at a Walgreens pharmacy in Sioux Falls is a rare occurrence for the area, but pharmacists are concerned about a rise in pharmacy robberies nationwide.

On Saturday evening, a man walked into the Walgreens at 41st Street and Louise Avenue and handed the pharmacist a note requesting prescription pills before flashing a handgun. The pharmacist gave him the pills and he left, police spokesman Sam Clemens said.

The same Walgreens was robbed last year. Police say 24-year-old Patrick Bonner went into the pharmacy, told staff he was armed, and demanded cash and prescription pills.

Aside from the 2015 incident, Clemens said he could not recall a pharmacy robbery ever happening in Sioux Falls, saying most people who want pills get them by defrauding pharmacies with fake prescriptions. A frequent trick is to add a number to a written prescription, making a 15-pill subscription appear to call for 150 pills, Clemens said.

"It's a fairly common occurrence that we have people who are altering scripts or calling in fake scripts," he said.

Nationwide, the Drug Enforcement Administration reported in 2015 that pharmacy robberies have been increasing since 2009. DEA statistics show that South Dakota was one of seven states that did not have a single pharmacy robbery in 2014, and one of 11 states that did not report one during the first half of 2015.

Even so, the two robberies and the recent burglary of a Salem drugstore have South Dakota pharmacists on edge.

"It's very concerning," said Sue Schaefer, executive director of the South Dakota Pharmacists Association in Pierre. "We're worried about our pharmacists."

Schaefer attributes the increase in burglaries and robberies to the desperate nature of pill addiction.

"They're getting bolder," she said of pill addicts who turn to robbery to feed their habits. "Some of them are very sophisticated ... They know exactly what they're looking for."

Earlier this year, a man was arrested after he allegedly stole $5,000 worth of prescription pills from a Sioux Falls Shopko. Police think he waited inside the store until it closed before breaking into the pharmacy and making off with the stash of Oxycontin, hydrocodone and morphine.

Schaefer recommends that pharmacies keep high-quality security cameras and make sure authorities are aware of people who may abuse prescription pills. Many pharmacies have joined the state's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program to help stop the practice of "doctor shopping," in which an addict gets prescriptions from multiple physicians to cover their tracks.

Schaefer says the SDPHA is also planning to offer educational opportunities to pharmacy staff on what to do in a robbery situation.

"Let them have the medications and then call law enforcement once they exit the pharmacy," she said. "That's the best way to stay safe."