Pharmacy Manager to Burglars: ‘You're at the Wrong Place'

Central Drugs, which has been at the La Habra location since 1954, specializes in hormone replacement therapy

Police are searching for a burglar who smashed a window with a rock and fled with medication from a La Habra pharmacy on Wednesday night, the second time the store has been hit in two weeks.

A burglary call was made around 10:27 a.m. at Central Drugs Compounding Pharmacy in the 500 block of West La Habra Boulevard, according to the La Habra Police Department.

Authorities will not know what kind of drugs were taken until an inventory is conducted, said La Habra police Sgt. Rob Diehl. The store's manager said Central Drugs, which has been at the location since 1954, specializes in hormone replacement therapy.

"Think twice, you're at the wrong place for what you're looking for," said manager Benjamin Cano. "You're not going to find it here, unless you want to become a male to a female or a female to a male."

A description of the burglar was not immediately available. The thieft was in and out in about one minute, according to investigators.

Central Drugs was burglarized around 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 19 by four individuals, three of whom were arrested. The first responding officer saw a suspicious vehicle, which led to a chase that ended in a crash into a wall on a dead-end street in the 700 block of West First Avenue, police said.

The officer stopped his squad car behind the vehicle and was getting ready to exit when the suspect put his car in reverse and slammed into the police car, police said.

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The two suspects in that vehicle were arrested and identified as 29-year-old Daniel Estrada of Apple Valley -- who was booked on suspicion of assault on a peace officer, burglary, possession of stolen property and conspiracy -- and 24-year-old Lina Medina of Rialto, who was booked on suspicion of conspiracy.

Two other suspects who were caught red-handed in the drug store Aug. 19 ran from police, authorities said. The ensuing chase led to the arrest of 23-year-old Gabriel Pille of Fontana but the other suspect got away.

It is unknown whether Wednesday's incident is connected to the past burglary.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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