Arrest made in pharmacy burglary

Marsha Hart, KP News

Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man suspected of burglarizing the Cost Less Pharmacy at Lake Kathryn Village in Wauna on Jan. 15.

Darrell Jason Murphy, 26, was arrested Jan. 16 and charged with burglary in the second degree, theft in the first degree and unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Murphy was arraigned in Pierce County Superior Court Jan. 19 and is out on $15,000 bail. A pre-trial hearing is set for Feb. 25 to determine evidence that is admissible, and a jury trial is scheduled for March 16.

Murphy allegedly cut a hole in the roof over the pharmacy and gained access to the building at 10:33 p.m. Once inside, the telephone line was cut, and cameras were disabled, except for two, which caught images of him inside the pharmacy filling black garbage bags with drugs and exiting the store at 12:11 a.m.

Murphy allegedly filled the bags with all of the OxyContin and other prescriptions, including those that had been dispensed and prepared for customers to pick up. The Sheriff’s department is waiting for an inventory list to compare against the items recovered from the residence of the suspect.

Don Zimmerman, owner of Cost Less Pharmacy reported that the alarm company had called him at home to report that the power and phone lines had gone down at the business, but the alarm had not gone off. Zimmerman was upset the alarm company had not notified the Sheriff’s department.