Burglary of another South MS pharmacy may be linked to crime spree, authorities say
Three suspects were charged this week in a Woolmarket pharmacy burglary authorities say could be tied to a crime spree across the South.
Authorities said this week that Brian Garland, Octavious Franklin and Glen McDowell are suspects in a burglary last September at Ladner Drugs on Shriners Boulevard. Court records allege the suspects drove from Georgia and broke through the pharmacy’s locked door to steal prescription medications and seven guns.
The suspects were arraigned on Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Their charges are the latest in a burglary spree federal authorities say has hit pharmacies across the region. A criminal complaint unsealed in April also identified two other men as suspects in pharmacy burglaries in Petal and Wiggins and other southern states.
The alarm at Ladner Drugs went off September 14, 2024, according to court records. Surveillance footage showed two people forcing through the door around 1:30 a.m. The records say a third person was in a car nearby.
Inside, two suspects filled trash bags with prescription medications and also stole the owner’s old wallet and outdated credit cards, the records say.
The suspects apparently drove to a gas station in Atmore, Alabama, where they left the old wallet with Garland’s debit card inside, according to court records. Surveillance footage showed the suspects inside the gas station around 5 a.m.
The three suspects, all in their 30s, have been extradited to Mississippi.
The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Biloxi Police Department investigated the case. In a news release, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety said the group could be connected to a larger criminal network and other pharmacy burglaries across the state.
Steven Hofer, the special agent in charge of the DEA’s New Orleans division, said in a statement that pharmacy burglaries “are not victimless crimes.”
“Beyond the immediate theft of medications intended for those in legitimate need, these burglaries fuel the opioid crisis and other addictions,” he said.
Margaret Baker contributed reporting.
This story was originally published April 18, 2025 at 4:39 PM.