Smithville Police Make Arrest In Drug Store Burglary

Smithville Police have apparently solved the burglary of a local doctor’s office and pharmacy with the arrest of a 28 year old man.
Detective Sergeant Chris Russell of the Smithville Police Department says Samuel Wade Walker of 128 Jerry Walker Drive, Smithville has been charged with sale and delivery of a schedule II controlled substance (percocets), theft over $10,000, and two counts of burglary. His bond is set at $140,000.
Walker is charged in connection with a break-in on Thursday, May 18th at the office of Dr. Melvin Blevins and Johnny’s Drugs.
During the pre-dawn hours of May 18th, Russell says someone broke out a rear window at Dr. Blevins’ office at the Center Hill Medical Building and entered.
Once inside, several attempts were made to make entry to the drug store next door through the wall.
After bursting through a sheet rock wall, the intruder or intruders removed from the pharmacy a large quantity of controlled substances including oxycontin, hydrocodone and xanax. The intruder or intruders then left, going back out the same way they came in.
Detective Sergeant Russell says police got a break in the case on Friday, May 26th when Police Chief Gus Clemente received an anonymous tip that Walker had a substantial amount of prescriptions at his residence.
Chief Clemente assigned Detective Sergeant Russell to the case and he initiated an investigation. Search warrants were subsequently executed and served at Walker’s home around 10:30 p.m. Friday night.
Detective Sergeant Russell says while executing the search warrant, he found a metal lock box in Walker’s bedroom closet. Inside the lock box were various prescription medications including percocets, xanax, morphine, tylox, subutex, avinza, and liquid morphine. The lock box also contained $1,200 in cash.
Russell says the drugs were positively identified as the narcotics taken in the burglary at Johnny’s Drug Store.
He says the street value of these drugs is estimated at $300,000.
Detective Sergeant Russell was assisted by Smithville Police Officer Steve Deffendoll, Deputy Jon Slager of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, the TBI and the Middle Tennessee Drug Task Force.
More arrests may be forthcoming as a result of this investigation.