Breanna Buckley, 29, of Lansdale.
A Lansdale woman is facing felony drug charges following a months’ long investigation by the Towamencin Township Police Department into prescription fraud at a local Rite Aid.
Breanna Buckley, 29, has been charged with three felony counts of obtaining possession of a controlled substance through misrepresentation, along with four misdemeanor counts of theft by unlawful taking, in connection with the investigation.
According to the criminal complaint, police were advised in November 2019 that possible fraudulent prescriptions were being passed at the Rite Aid located at 1390 South Valley Forge Road, and an investigation was launched. Police spoke to store employees who stated that on Sept. 10, 2019, they were contacted by Dr. Michelle Cowley from Animal Crackers Veterinary Clinic, who was requesting a prescription for Oxycodone for a canine that was scheduled to have a leg amputation, the report states.
Employees and investigators would later learn that Cowley never made the call, but it was her veterinary technician—identified as Buckley—who made the call, forged the script and picked up the medication, according to the report.
Police said that Buckley successfully repeated the scheme three more times in November 2019, until employees eventually became suspicious and confronted her, stating that it was hard to believe so many animals from a small animal hospital were having limbs amputated. The employees told police that Buckley was always the one picking up the prescriptions, and that she would pay with her personal credit card, the report states.
Investigators spoke to Cowley later that month, who stated that she had become aware of Buckley’s scheme after a second employee at the animal hospital overheard Buckley on the phone with the pharmacy pretending to be Cowley, the report states. Cowley told investigators that Buckley was immediately terminated, and that she would have to notify police, the report states.
A follow up interview with Cowley confirmed that that prescriptions were written from her prescription pad, but the handwriting and signatures were not hers, police said. Investigators also pulled surveillance footage from the Rite Aid, which showed that Buckley was the one picking up the prescriptions, according to the report.
Charges were filed against Buckley on Jan. 17, and she was later taken into custody on Jan. 27 and arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Ed Levine, who set bail at $50,000 cash. Buckley was then remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility after failing to post bail, and her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. in front of Judge Levine.
Court records indicate that as of late August 2019, Buckley began a six year probation sentence after pleading guilty to theft by unlawful taking and DUI in three separate incidents.
(Editor’s note: All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause, and reflects the point of view of the police. Should the defendant choose to issue a public statement, or is later found not guilty or has the charges dropped, we will update this article accordingly.)
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