Residents React To Rise In Crime As Demand For Certain Prescription Drugs Escalates

Concerns arising from the Father's Day quadruple that took place at in Medford — where the execution-style murders of four people occurred in connection with the theft of thousands of — were compounded when on Sunday, a man used a note to steal $200 cash, and several hundred oxycodone pills from a Farmingville .

Bayport-Blue Point Patch spoke to customers at the in Bayport to find out if they still felt relatively safe, or if a routine shopping expedition now makes their heart beat a bit faster. 

CVS declined to comment on what, if any, security measures are being taking in light of the alarming statistics that crime in pharmacies across the region is skyrocketing  as the demand for certain prescription drugs, namely strong opiate painkillers, is on the increase.   

Bayport resident Annette Shackelford , like many in the area, is concerned about the upswing in crime, but isn't planning on letting worry cramp her style.   "I don't like to be bullied into changing my routine for some idiot," said Shackelford bluntly.

While, Nick Petrocine from Bayport sees the Medford shooting as an isolated incident, and not a cause for widespread panic.

He said, "It doesn't make me any more concerned than I've been.  I'm kind of, I'm just going to live my life. Things like that don't happen every day."

As she was going about her daily errands, Blue Point resident Dianet Grundfast was plagued by a vague uneasiness and foreboding not unfamiliar to many shoppers as of late.

"It is frightening.  I always come here.  I just assume things like that don't happen here or anywhere," she said. "It definitely lingers in the back of my head, the what ifs," said Grundfast. "It's become a little more prevalent now with people abusing prescription drugs, and how desperate they are."

Charlie Petro from Sayville also couldn't help but be on the alert a little more than usual as he entered the drugstore, that he's no doubt frequented countless times without a second thought, but he is already used to taking simple precautions to reduce the likelihood of threat.

He said, "I just usually go out in the daytime anyway.  I don't do anything real early, or real late."

Blue Point's Sue Reilly was heading into the pharmacy unburdened by the recent ominous occurrence of the Farmingville robbery, happening in the immediate aftermath of such a catastrophic event so close to home.  "I think it's a random thing.  You can't worry about those things," said Reilly. "I don't really think about it, as horrible as it was."