Little Rock DEA, other agencies arrest 18 in connection with rural pharmacy pill burglaries

Miriam Battles
·2 min read
3

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A group from Houston has been arraigned in federal court in Arkansas for a series of pharmacy burglaries across the state.

U.S. Attorney for the Easter District of Arkansas Jonathan Ross said 18 were arrested in connection with $1.6 million in drug thefts from the pharmacies. He said the group would target a pharmacy in a rural community and drive in from Houston, Texas, in a rental car to break into a pharmacy in the early morning hours.

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Drug Enforcement Administration officials said the group would break into a pharmacy by breaking a window and then low-crawling through the business to avoid motion detectors. They would steal drugs, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, alprazolam and promethazine with codeine cough syrup, that they would resell in Houston.

Over 96,000 pills were stolen, investigators said. According to court documents, the suspects would commit the break-ins in groups of one to five. Pharmacy locations included Atkins, Benton, Russellville, Sheridan and Truman.

Officials said the investigation began in February 2022 and was completed in November of this year with the arrests. The investigation was titled “Rich Off Meds” after a hashtag the group used to brag online about their wealth.

Investigators said they recovered $79,000 in cash, six guns, including rifles and $330,000 in jewelry during the Houston arrests. A great deal of the jewelry was custom-made and, in some cases, included reference to the “Rich Off Meds” hashtag, they said.

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The 18 arrested were all from the Houston area, investigators said, and are facing charges including conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute Schedule II through V controlled substances, as well as pharmacy burglary, conspiracy to commit pharmacy burglary and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Investigators said the 18 were members of a local gang in Houston’s 5th Ward.

The 18 indicted are:

  • Antoinen Hampton, 37

  • Donald Spencer, 34

  • Marcus Hargrove, 31

  • Reginald Jackson, 32

  • Vernon Baloney, Jr., 33

  • Edwin Burks, 50

  • Nicklaus Franklin, 31

  • Louis Johnson, III, 24

  • Nathan Kibble, 40

  • Joshua Delaney, 43

  • Fernando Riascos Jr., 36

  • Alexis Garner, 31

  • Daron Livingston, 32

  • Jaiden Fowler, 23

  • Joshua Griffin, 21

  • Cierra Jackson, 30

  • Jasmane Lincoln, 34

  • Keith Wayne Brown, 34

Ross said seven of the 18 were arraigned in Arkansas on Tuesday. The remaining will be arraigned on Jan. 16, 2024, he said.

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Officials said multiple DEA offices were involved in the investigation, as well as the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Arkansas State Police, Houston Police, Harris County Sheriff and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.

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