A pharmacist in Southeastern Mississippi says some drug store burglar got a surprise when they broke into his business to steal the pain medication Lortab - the pills had been replaced with beans.
Pharmacist Mac Clark works at Fred's Drug Store in Pascagoula and told WLOX-TV the store has been broken into several times in the past six months, and each time the burglars got Lortab. He decided he needed a decoy.
He put kidney beans in a large Lortab bottle.
Around 6 a.m. that Wednesday, the burglars came back. The only thing stolen was the Lortab bottle filled with beans.
Investigators believe the burglar cut him or herself during the break-in because they found a trail of blood leading away from the building.
Source: WLOX-TV, http:// www.wlox.com
There's a hunting term about "outfoxing the fox." This pharmacist quickly realized that he had to stay one step ahead of the burglar. If the thief was breaking in to only get that one thing, it's probably easy to assume that this person must be addicted to this particular pain killer.
Addicts, I'm sure, would go to any extremes to get their fix satisfied and, more than likely, would have continued to break in and steal the pills. However, I'm really not too sure that ending up with a bottle of kidney beans would work as a deterrent. If anything, it could lead to frustration and make them more determined, and possibly check the bottle before getting out the next time.
The old adage "fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me," may actually apply here. The ploy set up by the pharmacist could just make the burglar that much wiser.
The article did not mention if there was an alarm system or cameras involved, but other than the trail of blood and possibly some extensive DNA testing, I don't know of any surer way of catching this crook other than a good burglar alarm system being installed.
An alarm being triggered, alerting authorities when the crime is actually taking place and giving them enough warning to surround the drug store, would perhaps work better. The pharmacist's inventive solution may only amount to a small hill of beans.
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