Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Courtney Orton reportingA Sandy pharmacy keeps getting robbed by thieves who want OxyContin. The latest robbery was two weeks ago, and two men who admitted stealing thousands of dollars worth of OxyContin are in jail.
The Southwood Pharmacy in Sandy, now called the Apothecary Shop, has been robbed three times this year. Each time, the suspects have been caught. It's a message the pharmacy and police want would-be robbers to hear.
"I was turned away. I turned around, and when I turned around there was a gun facing me about three inches from my nose," explained Michael Bernsten, pharmacist at Southwood Pharmacy.
That was two Saturdays ago at about 10:30 in the morning. "When I looked around, another one was there with a gun to her head," Bernsten said.
The robbers started making demands. "They only want the one thing every time: the OxyContin," Bernsten said.
Fearing for his life, Bernsten gave them what they wanted. He says the robbers got away with $12,000 worth of OxyContin, which is worth much more than that on the street.
Sandy police caught 29-year-old Dylan Serre and 34-year-old Marc Kammerman. "We were able to execute a search warrant today, and at that time we recovered evidence of the robbery, and both suspects admitted to the robbery itself," explained Sgt. Victor Quezada, spokesman for the Sandy Police Department.
The arrests bring relief to Bernsten and the other pharmacists he works with. But with the history of robberies they've had, they don't feel completely safe. "Knowing the history of it, we are a little isolated. [The business] sits back from the street, hard to see," he said.
There were two robberies in January, one where another pharmacist chased the robber out of the building with a golf club. A single suspect was caught and accused of committing both robberies.
Bernsten says there are plans to remodel the pharmacy to make it less exposed. He says you've got to have OxyContin available for those who really need it, so they've got to do everything they can to protect themselves from people who don't. "They do have valid and very important purpose in the medical industry," he said.
The two suspects could face five years to life in prison for aggravated robbery.
E-mail: corton@ksl.com
