Burglars bear crawl into Jefferson County pharmacy, leave empty-handed
IMPERIAL, Mo. – The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed two burglars targeted a pharmacy in Imperial early Monday morning, breaking through a ground-level window and bear crawling their way to the pharmacy before running off.
Deputies say it happened around 4 a.m. at the Pharmax Pharmacy on Main Street in Imperial. The pharmacy tells FOX 2 while it is still checking its inventory, it appears the alleged thieves ran off empty-handed. That window they shattered is now boarded-up.
Pharmacy Manager Caleb Witt said they were able to clean up the mess and secure the building in time for their usual 9 a.m. opening. Witt said it’s the first time the pharmacy has been targeted since he started working there six years ago. He was surprised to see the burglars crawl their way through the front of the store before reaching the pharmacy.
“You could see them on tape just crawling along the floor, all the way back to the pharmacy,” Witt explained. “It looked like some kind of army training video.”
Jefferson County deputies arrived within minutes, but the Sheriff’s Office confirms the two male suspects had already fled the scene. Witt said that like most pharmacies, they’ve invested in a top-notch security system to protect themselves from burglaries like this one, which features motion detectors, an extensive camera system, built-in safes, and reduced inventory.
Still, break-ins like these disproportionately affect small businesses.
“It does hurt us,” Witt said. “We are again a locally-owned small pharmacy and it’s coming directly out of our pockets.”
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Customers drive across the county just to use Pharmax. Witt said the pharmacy provides free deliveries to low-income and elderly residents in the community.
Nicole Slinger drives from Festus to pick up her prescriptions. She fears these suspects targeted a smaller business on-purpose.
“They’re just doing it to try to get into somewhere small, so they don’t get caught right away,” Slinger said.
Debbi LeClair commutes from House Springs, citing the pharmacies great service and helpful staff. She said stories like these make her sick.
“I hate to see a little mom and pop shop get hit by thugs,” LeClair said.
She has a message for these alleged thieves.
“People like that disgust me. They don’t understand how hard we work for our money, and they think that they can just get by in life by stealing and breaking-into businesses,” LeClair said. “I would say get a life and get a job.”
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office tells FOX 2 that evidence collected at both scenes indicates these are the same men who also allegedly broke into another pharmacy in Washington, Mo., early Monday morning.
As of Monday night, they are still looking for both suspects.
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