Janine McAlonan, 39, of Perkiomenville. (Credit: Delaware State Police)
Janine McAlonan is free on $11,000 unsecured bail after arraignment on four felonies.
A Perkiomenville woman is accused of taking part in a burglary of a Delaware pharmacy, in which she helped steal a safe containing $20,000 in narcotics including fentanyl, ketamine and opium, and $1,500 cash.
Janine McAlonan, 39, was charged by Delaware State Police with felony counts of burglary, possession of burglar tools involving unlawful entry, theft of $1,500 or more, and conspiracy to engage in felony criminal conduct, according to charging documents. McAlonan is also charged with a misdemeanor count of criminal mischief.
Police said two alleged accomplices, including Christopher Welch, 42, of Skippack, are at large. The third suspect’s identity is unknown. Welch has been charged with the same offenses as McAlonan.
Christopher Welch, 42. (Credit: Delaware State Police)On Oct. 26, at 3 a.m., Delaware State Police responded to a burglary at Compound Pharmacy on Albe Drive in Newark, DE. Video surveillance showed two people arrive to the business in a sedan with a small sunroof, and then a dark-colored Jeep Grand Cherokee arriving on scene. The suspects parked at an unknown location and approached the business on foot, police said.
McAlonan and an accomplice used a yellow crowbar to force entry into the front of the pharmacy and through a side door, damaging each door and frame, police said.
Once inside the pharmacy, McAlonan and another suspect took a safe containing $20,000 in controlled substances, including hydrocodone, morphine, aprazolam, codeine, fentanyl, opium, ketamine, and phenobarbital, police said. The safe also contained $1,500 in cash.
Furthermore, authorities allege McAlonan and her culprit purposely damaged and removed an electrical panel that controlled the internet for the business.
At 5 a.m., McALonan and the second suspect remove the safe from the pharmacy and place it into the Jeep, police said. The Jeep then fled the scene, while McAlonan and the second suspect walked away on foot, police said.
Surveillance video showed the Jeep had New Jersey registration.
Police said McAlonan was wearing a black hoodie, with a white symbol, dark-colored pants, gray over black gloves, dark-colored sneakers with white soles, and a black facemask, and carrying a blue and white tote bag with red straps.
The second suspect was described as a heavyset Caucasian male, wearing a gray hoodie, black facemask, gray over black gloves, black pants, and black shoes, and carrying a yellow pry bar, police said.
A license plate reader tagged the Jeep at 6:11 a.m. on Oct. 26 traveling over the Walt Whitman Bridge into Pennsylvania, police said. Police said a car sharing the same features of a suspect vehicle, including a small sunroof, was captured crossing over the bridge into Pennsylvania at 6:06 a.m.
Police revealed the car in question was a gray 2014 to 2016 KIA Forte EX, per the complaint. Information on the vehicle and suspects was disseminated to law enforcement agencies, police said. A sergeant with Clayton Police Department in New Jersey provided information to authorities on a suspect previously involved in burglaries of pharmacies in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, police said.
On Oct. 29, Delaware State Police contacted Pennsylvania State Police at Skippack regarding the investigation, who confirmed McAlonan’s address in their jurisdiction.
Authorities said Welch currently has an active warrant for burglary out of their department and were attempting to track him down.
On Oct. 29, police determined the car parked at McAlonan’s residence is the same one used in the burglary, police said.
On Nov. 1, McAlonan met with police and waived her rights, police said. She allegedly gave a detailed account of the crime, saying she was under the influence of xanax at the time. Once the safe was found, McAlonan told police they waited for a friend to arrive in the Jeep, per the affidavit.
McAlonan told police she was unaware of what was in the safe and had not received any proceeds from it, per the affidavit.
On Nov. 1, police conducted a search warrant on the Kia Forte and found a black Nike zippered sweatshirt, two pairs of gray over black gloves, two black facemasks, black pants, a gray sweatshirt, three yellow crowbars, black sneakers, and dark-colored women’s sneakers with white soles, per the affidavit.
Under the driver’s seat, police found a blue bag containing two bottles of ketamine HCL cream and three bottles of fentanyl with the pharmacist’s name on it, according to the complaint. Paperwork from the pharmacy was also found in the car, police said.
McAlonan, police said, was arraigned on the felonies and released on $11,000 unsecured bail.
Delaware State Police Troop 2 Criminal Investigations Unit continues investigating this incident. Detectives are asking anyone with information regarding this case or the whereabouts of Welch to contact Detective M. Kerrigan by calling (302) 365-8487.
Information may also be provided by sending a private Facebook message to the Delaware State Police or contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-847-3333.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
