Maryville Pharmacist to Plead Guilty to Stealing Pain Pills to Fuel His Addiction

A longtime Maryville pharmacist has struck a deal to plead guilty to federal charges he stole bottles of pain pills from his pharmacy's vault to fuel his own addiction, court records show.

Randall Scott Jenkins admitted to authorities he stole pre-retail bottles of oxycodone from City Drug Co., a pharmacy on East Lamar Alexander Parkway that he has co-owned since 2002, according to a plea agreement filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

Jenkins — who has been a licensed pharmacist for nearly three decades — is set to plead guilty on July 19 to two counts of theft of medical products and one count of being a drug addict in possession of guns that were transported across state lines.

Jenkins is charged with stealing two bottles of oxycodone from his pharmacy in April. Surveillance cameras captured the thefts of the bottles, which contained a total of 200 pills valued at less than $5,000, according to the plea agreement filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Lewen.

When law enforcement officers asked Jenkins in May if he had any additional empty bottles of stolen painkillers, he reportedly said, "I don't keep trophies."

That same day, authorities found Jenkins was in possession of a bottle of oxymorphone and a bottle of oxycodone for which he didn't have prescriptions, records show.

Search warrant, raid

Two weeks later, federal authorities armed with a search warrant raided Jenkins' home in Maryville. They reported finding a bottle of hydrocodone pills, as well as bottles of oxycodone pills that were hidden under clothes in Jenkins' closet.

Authorities also seized 19 guns, including one semi-automatic pistol that they had found earlier in Jenkins' Jeep and another that he was caught carrying — loaded — at a security checkpoint at McGhee Tyson Airport in November, according to the plea agreement.

Employees at City Drug reportedly told authorities Jenkins frequently carried a gun with him at work, and Jenkins admitted that the guns authorities found were manufactured outside of Tennessee. It's a violation of federal law for someone addicted to a controlled substance to have guns that traveled between states.

A man who identified himself as the pharmacy manager at City Drug declined to comment on the case Wednesday.

Sentence to be determined

Jenkins' sentence has not yet been decided. Altogether, the charges against him carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $750,000. But due to the terms of the agreement, his sentence will be reduced.

Jenkins has agreed to permanently surrender his pharmacist license to the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy.

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/crime/2018/07/11/maryville-pharmacist-plea-guilty-stealing-pain-pills-himself/776583002/