Authorities are on the lookout for a band of thieves who broke into Graves Family Pharmacy in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Surveillance video from the W. Main St. business shows four suspects, clad in black hoodies with their faces covered by masks and/or bandanas, entering the store at 1:53 a.m. on Sept. 18 after breaking the glass at the bottom of the front door.
Other video and photos collected from the store’s security system show the alleged perpetrators’ vehicle, a white Dodge Durango Hellcat with a black hood, backed up to the front entrance of the establishment, as well as the alleged thieves searching through the pharmacy’s medicine shelves.
“There were four people that came inside our store, and there was a fifth person, the driver, who stayed in the vehicle while the others came inside,” owner Chad Graves said. “They used a sledgehammer to break the outside glass. The audible burglar alarm sounded when they got near the narcotics safe, and they attempted to get into the safe but were unable.
“They could obviously get into it if they had enough time, but they gave up pretty quickly.”
Graves said the suspects then began looking through shelves, eventually taking two bottles of Promethazine worth a total of $72. He explained the drug is generally used to make cough syrup, but is commonly misused to make “Purple Drank” or “Lean,” a recreational drug popular in hip-hop culture that is prepared by mixing prescription-grade cough or cold syrup containing an opioid drug and an anti-histamine drug with a soft drink or sometimes hard candy.
Graves credited the store’s security system for preventing any significant theft, and expressed his appreciation to local law enforcement for their timely response.
“Our family at Graves Family Pharmacy would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the McMinnville Police Department for their quick response to our break-in at 1:52 a.m.,” Graves said in an online post. “Our alarms and security measures prevented the criminals from being successful, and we have obtained excellent video footage of the incident.”
When contacted, Graves said the alleged thieves are suspected of a break-in at another independent pharmacy in Winchester around 3 a.m. Wednesday, as well as a store in Madison, Ala., nearly an hour later.
“We were able to open on time with minimal disruption, and we have learned that two other pharmacies in nearby towns were also targeted,” he said. “We are deeply appreciative of the officers and detectives who serve our community and keep us safe. We also want to give a big shout-out to Martin Glenn Glass Unlimited LLC. Justin was at the pharmacy at 6:30 a.m. to secure our doors.”
Detective Katelynn Cannon is handling the investigation for local authorities. Anyone with any information which may help with the case is encouraged to contact the McMinnville Police Department at (931) 473-3808.
