The Pharmacy Shop has operated on Southland Drive in Lexington for more than two decades. In January, they suffered their 7th break-in.
Owner Clarence Sullivan says his phone rang at 2:15 on the morning of January 11, 2021. It was his store’s security company saying they’d detected glass breaking and people in the store.
Sullivan raced to the pharmacy to find the front door had been smashed. His security cameras revealed four intruders. One used a sledgehammer to bust the glass out of the store’s front door. Getting in wasn’t easy on the thieves.
“The funny thing to me,” Sullivan said “is it took five hits to break out our front door. It’s kind of funny to see a sledgehammer bounce off your front door.”
Another camera viewed showed the four entering the store and splitting off in search of the drugs they were after.
“It’s devastating,” Sullivan told Crime Stoppers reporter Kristen Pflum. “Not only personally because it’s an invasion of your privacy, but financially it’s a hit.”
Sullivan says it’s a $500 deductible just to repair the broken glass after each burglary. That’s on top of the inventory that’s stolen.
“When we get hit with a problem like this, it could lead to the elimination of a local community store because it’s a financial hardship,” Sullivan says.
He says after 38 years in the pharmacy industry, he’s learned to keep an eye on the customers who come into his store. Usually he can spot people there to cause trouble. After playing back his surveillance video, he doesn’t think he’s seen these four in the store below.
Lexington Police Detective Anthony Delimpo said the break-in looked planned.
“They were in and out in a minute and a half,” Delimpo said. “Kind of looked like inside they knew where they were going and what they wanted to get.”
All four intruders were wearing black hoodies. One has a red or pink elephant on the front. Another is a vintage Bon Jovi sweatshirt with “We’re back KICKIN’ a**” written on the back. That man was also carrying a pink backpack.
If you recognize any of the intruders, you can submit an anonymous tip at www.bluegrasscrimestoppers.com or call the tip line at 859-253-2020. Police don’t need your name, just your information about these four.
