East Bay pharmacy owner pleads for help after burglarized 4 times

ORINDA, Calif. - A small pharmacy owner in the East Bay is seeking the community's help after her drug store was ransacked four times in the last five months by thieves.

"It’s very violating," said pharmacist and owner of the Medicine Shoppe in Orinda, Dr. Naomi Yuen. "I’ve never experienced anything this frequent."

The first time her store was hit was on April 29. In that incident, video shows a white car was seen driving up to the store. When Yuen arrived at work, she found the lock on her front door pried open and drugs missing.

The second time, on May 31, she had more cameras installed, which captured the thieves using a crowbar to break the lock on the door, before they rummaged through the shelves and were seen carrying a large safe out the door while alarms were ringing.

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"After the first time, we bought the safe to put all our narcotics in. We put that in the back and bolted it to the wall and the floor, `but they’re still able to pry it off," said Yuen.

The third burglary was on July 31 when thieves broke the shop's glass door, and almost routinely, checked the hot spots like they’d been there before.

"They seem familiar with our layout," said Yuen. "They’re obviously targeting one thing, and that’s narcotics and schedule 2 medications."

After the fourth break-in on August 14, she said she decided to stop stocking narcotics and schedule 2 medications.

"So that includes pain medications that are opioids like Oxycontin or Norco, and it also includes ADHD medications like Adderall," said Yuen.

As a result, her customers must find somewhere else to fill those prescriptions.

Yuen said police have tracked the license plates using security footage, and they’re all stolen vehicles.

The thieves are in and out in just a few minutes.

"By the time the alarm goes off and the alarm system contacts police and police get here, they’re long gone," said Yuen.

Yuen said although insurance helped cover some of the expenses, she’s lost $40,000 in stolen drugs, another $20,000 in damages, and hours of sleep.

"My body just automatically wakes me up at like 4 a.m. almost expecting the alarm company to call me," said Yuen.

She is now asking the community for help to ramp up security, creating a GoFundMe to raise money for things like metal bars around the doors.

The community response has helped her raise almost $2,500 from long-time customers like Cindy Low, who said she has been getting her prescriptions here for 25 years.

"They’ve always had everything I’ve ever needed here without ever having to wait like when you go to other pharmacies," said Low.

Orinda police said the burglaries are under investigation but could not confirm whether the suspects are the same group in each case.

No arrests have been made.