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Last Updated: Aug 29, 2008 - 8:18:05 AM |
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Above is the damaged front door of Village Pharmacy in Victor after an attempted break in early Sunday morning. The perpetrators attempted to remove the entire door frame before apparently being scared off. Mitch Traphagen Photo
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VICTOR - An attempted break-in at Village Pharmacy in Victor over the weekend was thwarted, possibly by an Iowa County Sheriff’s Deputy on patrol through the community. The attempt may be tied to a string of pharmacy burglaries in small towns throughout East Iowa.
Deputies made at least two patrols through Victor that evening as part of a stepped up effort due to burglaries at pharmacies in communities ranging from the Des Moines area to Marengo. The break in attempt was reported by an ICSO deputy at 5:03 a.m. on Sunday.
“This is something we have been watching for,” said Iowa County Sheriff Nick Roggentien. “Someone scared them off - it may have been a deputy or someone else. They didn’t enter the store.”
In this latest incident, attempts were made to force open the front door to Village Pharmacy. It appears that when initial attempts to get past the deadbolt lock failed, the perpetrators began removing the entire door frame. They were unsuccessful.
Thieves, however, did gain entry at Peterson’s Pharmacy in Marengo. On August 1, burglars entered the store with apparently one goal in mind: As many as 30 boxes of common cold medicine were stolen in the break-in. The cold medicine contained pseudoephedrine - one of the ingredients used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.
“That’s all they have been taking,” Roggentien said, referring to the burglary in Marengo and others outside of Iowa County - including two in Belle Plaine.
Due to it being a key ingredient in the manufacture of meth, the display of cold and allergy medicines along with other products containing pseudoephedrine is regulated by the state of Iowa, as it is in states across the country. According to Iowa regulations, products containing a detectable amount of pseudoephedrine are to be kept behind the counter, in areas not accessible to customers or in a locked case. The state also regulates the quantity that may be purchased - to a maximum of two pre-packed units.
The regulations were designed to keep the ingredient out of the hands of methamphetamine manufacturers - and they may be having an effect as the recent burglaries and attempted burglaries would suggest.
The attempt in Victor occurred during the early morning hours on Sunday, Aug. 17. Anyone with information about the case should call the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office at 319-642-7307.
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