Pair Get Prison For 49 Pharmacy Burglaries In Philly, Suburbs

PHILADELPHIA — Two Philadelphia men have been hit with prison time for robbing or attempting to rob 49 pharmacies in Philadelphia and the suburbs.

Federal authorities said Robert Hopkins, 26, and William Limper, 43, both of Philadelphia, were sentenced to eight years and one month in prison, and 16 years and four months in prison, respectively for their roles in a conspiracy to burglarize or attempt to burglarize 49 pharmacies in Philadelphia, Delaware County, Montgomery COunty, and Bucks County five years. Hopkins was sentenced to three years' supervised release and Limper to five years' supervised release after their prison sentences.

In March, Hopkins pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit pharmacy burglary; conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances; pharmacy burglary; attempted pharmacy burglary; and attempt to possess pharmaceutical controlled substances with the intent to distribute. In June, Limper pleaded guilty to multiple counts of pharmacy burglary and attempted pharmacy burglary; possession with intent to distribute controlled substances; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and related conspiracy, drug and gun offenses.

Limper, Hopkins, and two others who were also indicted for their involvement in this conspiracy burglarized pharmacies to steal controlled substances — primarily opiates such as oxycodone and Percocet — then sell them for profit from about November 2014 until April 2019.

The four men forced entry into the pharmacies at nighttime with burglary tools such as crow bars and Halligan bars when the pharmacies were closed. They concealed their identities with clothing and masks over their faces, and they used scanners to monitor police activity and two-way radios to communicate with each other during the burglaries.

Authorities said they thoroughly planned and executed these burglaries with great precision.

For example, for quick getaways if they were detected by witnesses or authorities, they used stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT sport utility vehicles with powerful engines. When they were not using the stolen vehicles to perpetrate burglaries, the defendants concealed the vehicles in garages in a commercial storage lot, where they also hid their tools and the clothing they wore during the burglaries to avoid detection by law enforcement. After each of the burglaries, the defendants divided the stolen narcotics among themselves for the purpose of selling them to others.

Dombrowski and Rivera also pleaded guilty to similar charges and are awaiting sentencing in December 2021 and March 2022, respectively.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Bristol Township Police Department, the Upper Southampton Police Department, the Chester Police Department, the Lower Merion Police Department, the Upper Chichester Township Police Department, the Upland Borough Police Department, the Folcroft Police Department, the Sharon Hill Police Department, the Central Bucks Regional Police Department, the Hatboro Police Department, the Upper Darby Police Department, the Haverford Township Police Department, the Ridley Township Police Department, the Bristol Borough Police Department, the Lower Southampton Township Police Department, the Falls Township Police Department, the Springfield Township Police Department, the Marple Township Police Department, and the Warrington Township Police Department.