A man hid in a cooler to steal drugs from a pharmacy, Manatee deputies say. It didn’t end well

Manatee County sheriff’s deputies have arrested a man in connection with a string of recent pharmacy burglaries.

Thomas O’Brien, 47, was charged with multiple counts of burglary and one count of attempted burglary. A second man, 40-year-old Robby Alvarino, is accused of participating in one attempted burglary with O’Brien, and deputies say Alvarino is a suspect in the other crimes.

Detectives say they identified O’Brien as a suspect after an incident at the Winn-Dixie supermarket at 1010 53rd Avenue East on Thanksgiving Day.

A night manager heard a “suspicious noise” shortly after midnight, hours after the store had closed, and called law enforcement. Security footage revealed that the store had just been burglarized, according to the sheriff’s office.

The footage showed a man shoveling cartons of cigarettes into a trash bag before making his way to the store’s pharmacy and using tools to pry open the door to the area. Once inside, the man loaded the rest of the trash bag with medications before leaving through an emergency exit.

Detectives later found out that the burglar, who they identified as O’Brien, had entered the store around 9:30 p.m. and then hid in a cooler until the coast was clear.

O’Brien popped onto deputies’ radar again on Dec. 19, when he and Alvarino were seen attempting to burglarize Advance Care Pharmacy at 7016 U.S. 301 North in Ellenton, according to the sheriff’s office. The two men were later arrested.

While in custody, O’Brien admitted to stealing from pharmacies in Bradenton and Palmetto and in six more locations throughout Manatee County, according to the sheriff’s office.

Detectives also discovered that O’Brien was staying at the Magnuson Hotel at 6511 14th St. W., Bradenton. A search of his room and vehicle revealed clothes matching the suspect’s attire on the night of the Winn-Dixie burglary and a cellphone that detectives say was “tied” to the incident. Deputies also found tools and prescription narcotics that they say were amassed over multiple burglaries.