Feds Charge Duo With Conspiracy To Loot Drugs From Walgreens

CHICAGO — Prosecutors charged a pair of men with conspiring to burglarize a trio of pharmacies following Chicago's first night of widespread looting earlier this year.

William Lorenz, 40, and Ivan Bermudez, 42, both Chicago residents, are accused of breaking into Walgreens stores in the Humboldt Park, Logan Square and Old Irving Park neighborhoods on May 31.

The investigation began after police got a call of looting at the 4001 W. Irving Park Road store around 9:30 p.m. — a half-hour after a citywide curfew imposed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot in response to property damage and theft the previous night in the Loop. Officers arrived to find a broken front window and several people running out the back, according to an affidavit from Blake Smith, an agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

An officer chased down and apprehended Lorenz as he fled from the store, finding a black ski mask and keys to a Honda parked in the alley behind the Walgreens, according to Smith. In a search of the Honda, police found more than 1,000 pills in dozens of bottles. Much of it was later confirmed by state police to contain either hydrocodone or codeine, the agent alleged.

But the stash of stolen prescription drugs police found in his car did not come from the Walgreens he had taken off running from, because Lorenz had been unable to break into a locker prior to his arrest, according to Smith. After Lorenz agreed to speak to police, he said all the drugs belonged to his friend, Bermudez, the agent said.

Members of a DEA task force reviewed surveillance footage from several Walgreens stores that had been burglarized during the civil unrest of late May and early June, according to Smith. He said investigators found footage from two stores from earlier in the evening of May 31 that shows two men he believes are Lorenz and Bermudez rummaging through shelves and stealing drugs.

Although they were arrested by Chicago police, federal prosecutors elected to take the case and last week charged each of the men with one count of conspiracy to commit burglary involving a controlled substance.

“Anyone involved in destructive behavior in Chicago — such as looting a pharmacy for controlled substances — should know that federal law enforcement could be coming for you,” U.S. Attorney John Lausch said in a statement announcing the charges. “Our office will continue to work with the DEA, Chicago Police Department, and other law enforcement partners to hold looters accountable in federal court, whenever appropriate.”

Robert Bell, chief of the DEA's Chicago office, said in the statement that looting a Walgreens is not a victimless crime.

“The theft of controlled substance medication from pharmacies results in temporary or permanent closures, disrupting the supply of life-saving medications to the residents of Chicago,” Bell said. “With this, the diversion of stolen controlled medications is a federal crime, puts more drugs on the street and increases the public’s risk of drug abuse, addiction and overdose.”

According to the affidavit in support of the charge, the use of the Honda — a "facility in interstate and foreign commerce" — made the offense a federal crime.

Lorenz was arrested Monday and has had an initial court appearance. Bermudez was arrested Tuesday and is due to appear in court for the first time Wednesday. Each man faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison if convicted.