A Hale County pharmacy technician is behind bars, suspected of stealing more than 20,000 pills from her employer over the past year, authorities said.
Dendrea Cenetha Williams, 30, was charged Thursday with drug trafficking, said Moundville Police Chief Toby Banks and Hale County District Attorney Michael Jackson. She was initially arrested on theft and drug possession charges earlier this week, but the charges on Thursday were upgraded based on the quantity of hydrocodone in her possession at the time of her arrest.
The Tuscaloosa woman worked at KC Drug in Moundville, and had been employed there since August 2016, Banks said. Store owner Kim Crews last week contacted the Alabama State Board of Pharmacies after she noticed a discrepancy in the inventory under Williams' control, according to court and police records.
The owner had installed video surveillance inside the business, which showed Williams concealing something in her pants and then going to her vehicle, records state. Banks said investigators then interviewed Williams and she admitted to stealing large quantities of hydrocodone.
Williams gave authorities permission to search her vehicle, which turned up 583 7.5mg hydrocodone tablets worth an estimated $600, and 523 10mg hydrocodone tablets, also worth an estimated $600.
On Thursday, Moundville police and the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force carried out a search warrant at Williams Greensboro Road apartment. Banks said the results of that operation are expected to lead to additional charges by Tuscaloosa County authorities.
The chief said Williams claimed the pills were for herself, but he said the volume of drugs stolen indicates otherwise. "She was taking about 2,000 pills a month, sometimes more, sometimes less, since she started working there a year ago,'' Banks said.
The investigation is ongoing. Williams was booked into the Hale County Jail shortly before 2 p.m. where she is being held on $150,000 bond.
"If you look at the national news, you see that the prescription drug abuse is an epidemic,'' Banks said. "Any time that many drugs are stolen and distributed on the street, it's a problem."