Thieves accused of stealing $12,000 worth of allergy medicine across metro Atlanta, police say

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Two people from the Atlanta area were arrested after allegedly stealing $12,000 of allergy medicine and leading police on a chase through Sandy Springs. Now stores are restocking their supplies.

Sgt. Matt McGinnis of the Sandy Springs Police Department said officers arrested Jose Cruz and Tabitha Weaver on Monday after spending two days stealing allergy medicine from different stores in the Atlanta metro area.

Eventually, police said nearby officers chased the two in their car from a Target on Roswell Road. The two wrecked their car at a nearby house, where Cruz reportedly broke his leg while trying to run from officers. Police put the value of stolen medicine from Target at $7,000.

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“He was running from us taking off his shirt and trying to conceal who he was,” McGinnis told Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson. “He jumped over a fence, and had a little farther drop off than he anticipated.”

The week before, a video shows Cruz and Weaver filling an 18-gallon bin with all of the allergy medicine in a Publix aisle. On March 26 and March 27, Gwinnett police said they allegedly stole $5,000 in allergy medicine from two stores in Lawrenceville.

“It’s definitely very unusual. We don’t know what they could have used it for or their motive,” McGinnis said.

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Last October, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that antihistamines were being mixed with opioids to limit side effects.

“My staff and I are on high alert,” said Dr. Karl Simon at Suwanee Pharmacy.

Simon told Channel 2 Action News that allergy medicine thefts are one of the reasons he locks allergy medicine supplies behind the counter at the pharmacy.

“To take that and add it to the effect of these other street drugs that are being used, there’s definitely a potential market for it,” Simon said.

So far, neither Weaver nor Cruz has been charged with any drug-related crimes.

Weaver is in custody at the Fulton County Jail, while Cruz was taken to the Gwinnett County Jail with a broken leg.

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