VERO BEACH — A south Indian River County man has been arrested, accused of breaking into the Perkins Pharmacy and Italian Kitchen to steal pills and cash because he has children and needed the money, the Vero Beach Police Department said Friday.
The arrest came after an alarm sounded at the pharmacy, located on State Road 60 east of 43rd Avenue, and police responded to investigate.
Officers noticed the front door’s glass was shattered but still intact. Upon walking the area, they discovered a car parked at the side of the building just as the suspect, Shawn Paul Bennett, 23, of 1825 1st Place, was walking out the back of the pharmacy loaded down with a crate full of prescription medications.
Bennett was placed under arrest and questioned, during which he told investigators he thought he could make “some money” because there are “a lot of pill users out there,” the arrest report states.
“Bennett admitted that he did not plan the burglary, but made the decision to break in to Perkins as he was driving by,” the report states.
The suspect also told authorities that he broke into the Italian Kitchen, located at 2121 14th Ave., the night before and stole an undisclosed amount of cash from a safe.
“He said he committed the crime because he has children and needs money,” the report states.
Bennett faces several charges including burglary of an unoccupied structure, possession of burglary tools, felony grand theft, and possession of numerous controlled substances including oxycontin, morphine, Lyrica, and marijuana, according to his arrest report.
He is currently being held at the county jail without bond pending a first appearance in court scheduled for Saturday morning.
