⏱ 2 min read
Three Texas men, Anthony Ray Venwright, Jonathan Fore, and Erik Dewayne Lyons Jr., traveled to Missouri and Kansas in July 2025, where they broke into three pharmacies, stealing tens of thousands of pain pills and other controlled substances. The men, from the Houston area, hit pharmacies in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Overland Park, Kansas, and Maryland Heights, Missouri, over the course of two days. The motive behind the burglaries was to sell the stolen drugs for profit. The burglaries occurred on July 30 and 31, 2025.
The Maryland Heights police identified the getaway car, a Toyota RAV4, and tracked it to Arkansas, where state police stopped the vehicle and found evidence linking the men to the burglaries. The men admitted to stealing a total of 25,610 doses of pain pills and other controlled substances.
Venwright, 33, and Fore, 30, were sentenced to 120 months and 87 months in prison, respectively. Lyons Jr., 21, received a 46-month sentence. All three men were ordered to pay $62,708 in restitution. The case was investigated by the Maryland Heights Police Department, the Arkansas State Police, and other local law enforcement agencies.
The sentences were handed down after the men pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances and entering a pharmacy with the intent to steal controlled substances. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul D’Agrosa prosecuted the case.
📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Drug Trafficking
- Defendant: Missouri
- Location: MO
- Source: DOJ Press Release
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