Delaware Fighting Drastic Increase in Prescription Drug Crimes
Pharmacies are becoming the new banks for criminals. Whether the individual hopes to sell their take on the black market or has a prescription drug addiction they are seeking to support, the stakes are getting higher.
According to a recent Delaware Online report, a mask wearing man grabbed a women in the rear parking lot of Manor Pharmacy in late April. The man put a gun to his victim’s head, planning to use her as a hostage to get the pills he was after.
The woman was a hostage for the man, Philip Maconi, as he demanded the pharmacist give him OxyContin. This was not the first attempt on a pharmacy by Maconi, but it was his first with a hostage. The same pharmacy came under siege by Maconi a month earlier as he sought the same reward.
In this latest attempt, the pharmacist gave Maconi what he wanted. Facing a gun put a whole new perspective on the crime – especially since it was so closely aimed at the head of another individual.
Officials claim the abuse of prescription drugs has soared so high over the last eight years that among young users, this habit now outpaces the use of crack and cocaine. In fact, prescription drug abuse is second only to marijuana.
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell was at a news conference in Washington recently and announced that prescription drug fraud arrests in his state have seen an increase of more than 600 from 2003. In that year, arrests were at 33; by 2009, arrests topped 220.