A man who has been sentenced to prison four times was arrested after a break-in at a Waupaca pharmacy.
Chad R. O’Keefe, 43, Waupaca, is charged with burglary, theft, criminal damage to property, possession of narcotics, possession of a controlled substance and illegal possession of prescription drugs.
On Christmas Day, Dec. 25, Waupaca police were dispatched to Stratton’s Drug Store on Main Street in response to a motion alarm. They found no entry had been made to the building.
On the afternoon of Saturday, Dec. 26, Waupaca County dispatch contacted Waupaca police to report the alarm had been activated at the drug store again.
Waupaca County Sheriff’s Deputy Cameron Durrant and Waupaca Police Officer Diana Flatoff arrived at the scene. They found the glass door in the back shattered. Amidst the broken glass were two prescription vials for hydrocortisone tablets and diazepam.
The wooden door from the back breakroom into the pharmacy had been kicked open. Flatoff also photographed a partial shoe impression on the door.
In the pharmaceutical’s area, the officers found two more prescription vials on the floor. These had contained hydroxyurea capsules and hydrocortisone tablets.
The drug store’s owner arrived and found no money had been taken during the burglary.
On Dec. 28, Officer Bret Rodenz viewed security video from Farmers State Bank of a suspicious vehicle entering the alley behind the drug store.
The video from Christmas Day showed a white Toyota Rav 4 enter the alley from West Fulton Street, drive past the drug store’s back door, then park his vehicle and walk back down the alley. The male suspect was wearing an olive green jacket with gray sleeves and shoulders.
The video from Dec. 26 showed the Toyota drive down the alley several times before stopping near Stratton’s rear entrance. The vehicle blocked the camera’s view of the back door, but the driver could be seen exiting and returning to the vehicle.
Rodenz contacted a Toyota dealer to determine the make and model of the vehicle in the video.
He then worked with Waupaca County communications officer Jody Schultz to help him find registered owners of white Toyota Rav 4s made between 2006 and 2012.
Among the list of names, O’Keefe stood out due to his prior criminal convictions.
Sgt. John Helgeson reviewed the video and recognized the suspect as O’Keefe. He then drove to O’Keefe’s residence on King Road and saw a vehicle in the driveway matching the Toyota on the video.
On Dec. 29, Rodenz and Officer Paul Benzschawel accompanied two probation agents to O’Keefe’s home. There they found a jacket that matched the one seen in the video and a pair of hiking boots with soles that appeared to match the print on the door.
In a blue tool box in the basement and in O’Keefe’s vehicle, Rodenz found hundreds of pills, including diazepam and Adderall.
O’Keefe was released from custody on Jan. 27 on a $5,000 signature bond. He faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted of burglary.
Prior criminal record
In March 1999, O’Keefe was sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of burglary in Portage County. He was paroled in October 2002.
In July 2003, O’Keefe was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of hit and run, resisting an officer and felony bail jumping in Portage County. He was released into extended supervision in February 2005.
In November 2007, he was placed on four years of probation with nine months in jail after being convicted of two counts of burglary in Waupaca County.
In October 2009, O’Keefe was placed on two years of probation after being convicted of fleeing an officer and resisting an officer in Waupaca County.
In August 2010, O’Keefe was sentenced to three years in prison after his probation was revoked on the 2007 burglary convictions in Waupaca County.
In December 2010, O’Keefe was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of robbery by threat of force and possession of a controlled substance in Portage County. He was released into extended supervision in August 2013.