Pharmacy Bandits Sentenced for Narcotic Thefts

ABILENE, Texas — In a grim turn of events, Marcus Christopher Hargrove Jr. and Kirkston Bernard Smith, both aged 24, have been handed down severe federal prison sentences for their brazen pharmacy break-ins and theft of controlled substances.

Hargrove, from Manvel, Texas, faces 30 months behind bars, while Smith, a resident of Houston, is sentenced to serve 41 months. Both men pleaded guilty in September 2016 to one count of burglary involving controlled substances.

The Sweetwater Police Department received an unsettling call on October 18, 2015, reporting shattered glass at Maloney’s Pharmacy in Sweetwater. The scene was chilling; shards of glass, medication boxes strewn across the floor, and bloodstains indicating a violent break-in. Smith’s blood was identified on the scene, and he had stolen over $8,700 worth of hydrocodone, oxycodone, methadone, and other hard-to-get drugs.

Two months later, in Abilene, another pharmacy fell victim to these criminals. Surveillance footage showed Hargrove and Smith attempting to break into a locked cabinet containing narcotics. Bloodstains on the cabinet confirmed Hargrove’s involvement in this botched attempt to pilfer prescription medications.

The Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI were instrumental in the investigation, leading to the successful prosecution of these drug-trafficking pirates by Assistant U.S. Attorney Juanita Fielden.

This case serves as a stark reminder of the violent nature of drug-related crimes and the relentless efforts by law enforcement to keep our communities safe from such criminal elements.