New prescription pill laws in Florida are designed to combat the drug abuse epidemic, but tighter laws have addicts resorting to other means to feed their addictions. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Florida has been the leader in armed pharmacy robberies since 2007.
Tuesday morning, Madison Street Pharmacy in Starke became part of that statistic. Around 8:30, a man wearing a hoodie paced around Tracy Abbott's pharmacy, not appearing to buy anything.
Abbott says, "i believe that when you cinch down on one end with the laws, the criminals just push back."
Abbott called 911, and the man in the video, 23 year old Dana Douglas, was arrested before he could leave the store. Douglas is in the Bradford County Jail on charges of armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is being held on 100-thousand dollars bond.