OCEAN PINES — A Philadelphia man is being held on felony theft charges on Friday after allegedly swiping thousands of dollars’ worth of pharmaceuticals and other merchandise on several trips from area pharmacies.
Shortly before 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 9, Worcester County Sheriff’s deputies were alerted to a theft in progress at the Walgreens on Cathell Rd. by an off-duty Ocean Pines Police officer. The officer reported a suspect was entering the store wearing baggie clothes and then exiting the store with a noticeable difference in physical size. The off-duty officer told sheriff’s deputies the suspect had repeated the process three times.
A Worcester County Sheriff’s Deputy contacted the suspect leaving the Walgreens property and identified him as Vincent J. Lawson, 31, of Philadelphia. The deputy noticed in plain view merchandise from Walgreens on the front passenger seat. A search of the vehicle revealed three large trash bags containing 210 packages of over-the-counter medications and related items.
Through the investigation, the deputy determined 26 of the items were the property of Walgreens having a value of $1,082. An additional 61 items valued at $1,328 were determined to be the property of the CVS store at 120th Street in Ocean City. The owner of the remaining 123 items had not been identified as of Friday afternoon.
Lawson was placed under arrest for felony theft and was being held at the Worcester County Detention Center on a $15,000 bond on Friday.
The Worcester County Sheriff’s Office is asking any pharmacy in the area missing large amounts of Prilosec, Nexium, Mucinex, Pepcid, Claritin, Zegerid, Prevacid or Nicorette to contact Cpl. Hickman a the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office at 410-632-1112.