Pharmacy Burglar Hid In Cooler To Steal From Winn-Dixie: MCSO

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — Thomas M. O’Brien was arrested Wednesday for a string of pharmacy burglaries, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The 47-year-old faces multiple counts of burglary and one count of attempted burglary. Robby Alvarino, 40, also faces one county of attempted burglary and could be charged with other crimes, the sheriff’s office said.

O’Brien was initially identified as a suspect in a Thanksgiving Day burglary at Winn-Dixie located at 1010 53rd Ave. East in Bradenton.

Deputies responded to the grocery store around 12:30 a.m. after the night manager heard “a suspicious noise,” MCSO said. They reviewed security footage that showed Winn-Dixie’s pharmacy had just been burglarized.

Video footage showed a suspect, who was later identified as O’Brien, filling a large trash bag with multiple cartons of cigarettes at the front of the store before making his way to the pharmacy, where he used tools to pry open the door. Once inside, he filled the remainder of the trash bag with medications and left through the emergency exit, the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies said that O’Brien entered the store around 9:30 p.m., while it was open, and hid in the cooler until there were no employees around.

During the investigation, after identifying O’Brien as the suspect, detectives learned that he was staying at the Magnusson Hotel on US 41 in Bradenton, MCSO said. Before they could speak with him, he and Alvarino were seen casing and attempting to break into the Advance Care Pharmacy at 7016 US 301 North in Ellenton. They were later arrested.

While in custody on Wednesday, O’Brien admitted to burglarizing six pharmacies in Manatee County, as well as pharmacy burglaries in the jurisdictions of Bradenton and Palmetto police, the sheriff’s office said.

Detectives also obtained evidence from O’Brien’s hotel room and car, including clothes matching those worn by the Winn-Dixie suspect, a cell phone “tied” to the burglary, tools and prescription drugs from other burglaries, the sheriff’s office said.