Full Notification

Modesto. CA- Modesto Police arrested a Rite Aid pharmacist after he was caught stealing hundreds of various prescription pills. The employee was also caught drinking alcohol while at work.

On Wednesday June 30th at about 9:40 PM, Modesto police officers were called to the Rite Aid Pharmacy, located at 1032 Oakdale Road, to investigate a theft involving a store employee.

The Rite Aid store’s loss prevention officers were made aware of an employee, Dennis Zetter, a 61-year-old Stockton resident, who was possibly drinking alcohol while at work. Zetter is one of the store’s pharmacists. When Zetter was at work, the loss prevention officers observed him make several trips to his vehicle, which was parked in the Rite Aid parking lot. After being in his car for a few minutes drinking from a travel coffee mug, Zetter would return to the pharmacy. At the end of each trip, the loss prevention officers looked into the car from the outside and noticed Zetter was accumulating various prescription pills and pill bottles.

The loss prevention officers confronted Zetter and detained him, after they witnessed Zetter steal a bottle of alcohol from the store and return to his car. Modesto police officers recovered hundreds of various prescription drugs that were determined to have been stolen from the pharmacy. A variety of over 350 prescription pills were recovered from Zetter’s person and from his vehicle. They included Diazepam, Acetaminophen codeine phosphate, and Alprazolam, as well as several bottles of Promethazine codeine syrup. The travel coffee mug Zetter was seen drinking from was later found to be filled with an alcoholic beverage.

Zetter was arrested and booked into the county jail for possession of controlled substance, possession of uncontrolled substance, and burglary. This investigation is on-going.

Police ask anyone who may have information regarding this incident to please call Crime Stoppers toll free @ (209) 521-4636. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward. Tipsters can also text information to Crime Stoppers by sending a text message to 274637. Just type “TIP704” along with your message.

For information about this news release, contact police spokesman Sergeant Rick Armendariz at (209) 652-1820.