Theft reportedly well-planned, efficiently executed
By Joseph M. Morgan
IDER, Ala.—Police are still investigating a break-in and theft that occurred at Ider Discount Drugs at 10705 Alabama Highway 75 in Ider sometime in the early morning hours on Tuesday on June 28 a little after 3 a.m.
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department is leading the robbery investigation, but did not report any leads or suspects as of press time on Thursday.
“When Deputies and Investigators arrived at the scene they discovered the store had been burglarized with several thousand dollars of medication and money stolen and some property damage,” the Sheriff’s Department reported in a statement to the media on Wednesday.
According to Michelle Feeney, Ider Discount Drugs Pharmacist Manager, the thieves broke through the front door of the pharmacy early Tuesday morning taking an undisclosed amount of narcotics and cash.
The break-in tripped the pharmacy’s alarm system, but the thieves were already gone by the time Ider Police and DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived to the scene.
"The thieves broke into the store in a smash-and-grab robbery through the front door,” Feeney said. “It appears that they knew what they were doing because they took specific narcotics and got in and out before the police were able to respond."
According to our sources, the robbery has the hallmarks of a well-organized operation that required significant planning and precise execution. It is estimated that the entire robbery was committed in less than 15 minutes. Specific medications were targeted and reportedly the thieves knew exactly where to look and what to take—indicators of a well-planned robbery.
Pharmacy owner Rodney Williams said the pharmacy is equipped with a modern, high quality alarm system that functioned properly when thieves tripped the alarm.
Reportedly detectives collected broken glass and potential fingerprint evidence that is currently being analyzed by the Sheriff’s Department, but no suspects have been named and authorities have not may lead the authorities to the individuals responsible for the robbery.
Feeney said that it was important to pharmacy owner Rodney Williams to resume business as usual after the police worked the crime scene on Tuesday.
“Ider is a small community and there are a lot of people that count on us (Ider Discount Drugs) every single day for important medication,” Feeney said. “It was important to us to let the public know right away that while a crime had taken place, they could still rely on us for their pharmacy needs and we would not allow the robbery or these criminals to shut us down. We immediately replaced the stolen medications and have been and will be fully stocked and open for business as usual.”
Feeney and DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris ask that anyone with information pertaining to the robbery at Ider Discount Drugs call the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office at 256-845-3801 or go to the website to email anonymous information at www.dekalbcountysheriff.org.
