By George Butler
There are a variety of thieves within the South. I’ve seen police crime bulletins that record North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina as the highest three states in crime fee. They’re additionally the most popular states for drugstore robberies, though Louisiana, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee are additionally good pickins. The truth is, in accordance with a brand new state legislation, South Carolina pharmacies can not get insurance coverage until they’re correctly alarmed. Pharmacies are being hit all around the nation, however the South is certainly the middle of the motion—perhaps as a result of Southerners are likely to know extra about prescribed drugs. And cities are typically smaller down right here, with much less refined alarm methods and fewer police.
I’m 20 now, and I’ve been hitting shops for 5 years. However my first job was a health care provider’s workplace. A pal had advised me tips on how to get out and in of the place. He had described it as a “truckload,” actually “one million {dollars}’ price.” Nicely, just a few days later, me and my most important boy, J.C., had been tripping on some acid and actually freaking out. We couldn’t discover a barb wherever to come back down with. It simply so occurred that at that second we had been driving by this workplace. I advised J.C. we might get some downs there, and he was prepared.
We parked his truck a mile away within the woods and took alongside two burlap sacks, some masking tape, socks for gloves and a sawed-off shotgun. I needed to reduce by 5 locked doorways with my trusty Buck pocket knife. We ended up with 4 gallons of paregoric, 40 grams of sodium pentathol and a bunch of bullshit. Since this was our first heist, we actually didn’t know what to search for. We simply took as a lot as we might carry of something that regarded dopey.
On our method out we handed a drink machine blinking on and off within the entrance workplace. J.C. thought it was the cops and emptied each barrels into it. We hauled ass and headed for Macon, solely to search out out that we had barely $200 or $300 in dope. A month or two later we hit an actual retailer and had lick at that.
There are a lot of methods to get sure sorts of tablets in need of theft. The Class A medicine—narcotics—are the most well-liked down right here. For these, knowledge tooth and abscesses are good to make use of in your dentist. I’ve all the time used the kidney-stone journey with medical doctors, placing some blood within the urine pattern and utilizing my finest rap. These strategies yield morphine, Dilaudid, Demerol, Pantopon and Percodan.
Forging prescriptions is one other technique. I haven’t completed this fairly often, however I do know the routine. Some associates and I as soon as broke into a health care provider’s workplace, discovered the script pads and solid them for Dilaudid. Then we left two individuals there —a man to play physician and a lady to be his receptionist and reply the telephone. We cashed the scripts throughout city. If a pharmacist grew to become a bit suspicious, he simply known as the workplace and we had been coated. Since we had been in a reasonably large metropolis, we ended up with over a thousand tablets.
Who does shops? I’ve completed them with black dudes and New York Puerto Ricans, however a lot of the guys are middle-class white boys. Most are dope fiends out to get excessive, however others are solely in it for the cash and don’t even get off themselves. Some go for the barbs and velocity, however junkies have been doing it for years. Charlie Moore, an 80-year-old affected person within the Veteran’s Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina, advised me he began stealing dope when morphine went to $40 an oz. He hit his final retailer when he was 76 and broke his foot on the best way out. Previous Charlie is a dwelling legend, a narrative by himself. The state narcotics commissioner, Mr. Woods, advised me Charlie was the very best within the enterprise.
It’s arduous to inform prematurely what a retailer is price; they range in accordance with the prescriptions they fill most. My share within the job I’m now doing time for was 300 No. 4 Dilaudid, 275 Percodan, 400 Quaaludes and Sopors (300 mg), 175 Optimil and Parest (400 mg), 500 Nembutal (100 mg), 200 Seconal (100 mg), 200 3-grain Tuinal, 200 3-grain Amytal, 300 Desoxyn and various other forms of velocity, 175 Preludin (25 and 75 mg), 200 Biphetamine (Black Beauties) and 250 Amphaplex (10 and 20 mg). Amphaplex, put out by Palmedico in Columbia, South Carolina, is arms down essentially the most well-known velocity within the South. The outdated ones would break down by cold-shaking, however buffers are added to the brand new ones to chop down their abuse potential, so that they should be cooked and strained. A median retailer will web about 10 to fifteen grand if offered in amount, however I’ve heard of individuals making as a lot as $60,000 on a single hit.
I normally fronted my velocity and barbs to my tight boys down on the college. They offered singles—velocity to check and downs to occasion. I offered the costliest arduous medication myself. I didn’t see a lot of the great things, although, as a result of me and my outdated woman can actually get down. We used to get to the place we had been shootin’ three or 4 No. 4 Dilaudid at a time. She was introduced up on Thai scag, although, and likes heroin higher. I like the top of heroin, too, however the rush no option to describe it—it provides me a tough that simply gained’t stop. Perhaps that’s the rationale she’s nonetheless round.
My tight man, Fats Boy Turner, who’s now doing 25 for armed theft, likes Desoxyn finest. This velocity’s ok to make a 17-year-old preacher’s son get out his gun and go searching. After all, with regards to downs, Quaalude is the nationwide favourite. It’s a 714 era; everyone’s after the large Lude. However all bullshit apart, the junkies are the true cowboys. They do it for the true bodily want. For the remainder of us, there’s the pharmacy habit itself—the motion, not the dope. Like my ol’ roadie, Jerry Hogg, advised me, “Simply think about your self broke and dope sick, attempting to maintain it off your thoughts. Then abruptly there it’s, a sure-fire lick. You see it, you are feeling it, after which the arduous half: you do it.” The final and better part is crawling into your automotive and getting away with a $30,000 rating. Every little thing’s cool till that “cowboy fever” strikes and also you’re able to do it once more. That’s why we’re all sittin’ right here in jail. You possibly can’t stop. It’s like bustin’ one nut; you gotta return for the opposite.
After doing a retailer, I used to love to go house to Covena, Georgia. I favored to activate all my house boys with barb events. Us Ohoopee River swamp boys used to actually get down. I’ve seen a few of them down 9 three-grain Tuinals with a quart of white liquor. They’d be a-fightin’ and araisin’ sho-nuff hell, whereas the ladies’d be looser’n a lighter stump in a sand ridge.
Then we’d come to the toughest half: promoting the stuff. On this police state you’ll be able to by no means inform who’ll flip you in. I’ve by no means been caught whereas on the scene or leaving it. All my busts had been the results of defective rap companions. My tight boy Jerry, a Geechie from Charleston, South Carolina, sells his medication in locations like Joe’s Sort out Store and to the prostitutes on Reynolds Avenue. He by no means rushes issues, simply makes himself accessible. His system should work, ’trigger he’s been raiding shops for 5 years and by no means been convicted for it.
Promoting in amount is quicker and safer however much less worthwhile. One in all our largest takes occurred like this: In August of ’74. me and my associate had been on our option to the August Jam in Charlotte, North Carolina, after we noticed retailer. We went inside and J.C. helped me conceal up within the lavatory ceiling earlier than he cut up. After hours I slipped down, turned off the alarms, discovered the narcotics field and left. We went on to the live performance and offered nearly the entire retailer in singles. Folks from all around the nation had been copping from us as a substitute of shopping for the road dope.
One little tip: earlier than a job it’s all the time a good suggestion to name the shop and ask if they will fill a sure prescription. Dilaudid is an effective one to ask for, as a result of if they’ve this, they’re certain to have the rest you’ll need. There are 4 primary methods to do a retailer: armed theft, hiding inside and breaking out, breaking and coming into, or simply kicking within the door—grabbing what you’ll be able to and splitting quick. This final technique is named “therapeutic them,” and it’s my favourite, though I’ve completed all 4. Armed theft is enjoyable as a result of it provides you that ol’ Jesse James feeling. Hiding inside is the slickest and best, and B & E takes essentially the most talent. However therapeutic them is the one that actually takes coronary heart. You’re inside the shop with all of the alarms going off and solely seconds to search out the nare field and haul ass. I’ve completed that one quite a bit they usually say I’ve received a lotta coronary heart, however my outdated woman and youngsters have it now. She says I’ll by no means see the within of one other retailer—not after hours, anyway. However I’ll always remember the frenzy within the nuts and head I used to really feel operating down the road with two full burlap sacks.
By the point I get out of right here, if a person desires a retailer he’ll should Bogart it with a gun. After all, each retailer will be hit. A person simply has to place his thoughts to it. With completely different shops you utilize completely different strategies. Therapeutic them isn’t all the time potential, since some locations have the dope in safes or scattered on the again cabinets. In these instances it takes too lengthy to get all of it collectively. Normally, although, it’s all saved in a locked field or drawer. Discovering that is an intuition with me; it’s by no means taken me greater than two minutes, even in an odd retailer.
As soon as in a South Carolina small city, two of my most strong companions and I deliberate to take a retailer. Tony, a Puerto Rican, and Jesse, Southern boy, had each made time earlier than. Tony received his for armed theft in Jersey, and Jesse, for stealing the chief of detectives’ exhibition pot from his workplace in Jesse’s hometown. Tony wanted the cash, Jesse wanted the dope and I wanted the frenzy.
I already had the place scoped out. The one hang-up was the police station proper throughout the road. We parked in a manufacturing unit car parking zone just a few blocks away. A wierd automotive in a small city will get you nabbed quicker than something. Tony and Jesse pried open the again door whereas I hawked from beside the shop. I used to be about to piss in my pants: the cops had been sitting exterior ingesting espresso at 2:00 A.M.
Once they lastly received the door open, we ran inside straight for the prescription counter. Subsequent factor I knew we had been all operating out once more. Appears that they had an intercom system related on to the police station. We received exterior and noticed every part was nonetheless cool, so Jesse went again in and turned down the quantity on the intercom. He mentioned they’d be extra more likely to discover if it was turned off utterly.
Jesse was a bang-up thief, however he had a behavior of stretching the reality a bit. The truth is, he lied quite a bit. He’d been telling us he might crack a protected with a stethoscope. Nicely, on that evening Tony’s spouse, a nurse, simply occurred to have a stethoscope. Tony handed it to him, however he wriggled out of it by saying he needed to have the electrical sort. I advised him he was filled with shit, and again in we went. I received the narcotics field whereas Tony gathered the paregoric and syringes on the cabinets. I advised Jesse to strive the protected, though I knew he couldn’t do it. I’m completed loading my sacks once I look over and see Jesse performing like an actual safe-cracker, blowing on his knuckles and every part, when abruptly the door of the protected opens. Jesse fell over and fainted. After all, he by no means admitted it, but it surely was only a stroke of luck. Anyway, who cared, with $2,600 plus all of the dope?
Like most convicts, I’ve typically thought a guide on my lifetime of crime can be a vendor. It most likely wouldn’t, however this chance to say just a few issues has me walkin’ in tall cotton.
I’ve lived , arduous, quick life these final six years. Now I’ve to pay again 4 years in return. And, as they are saying right here, “Payback is a bitch.” Time has by no means bothered me earlier than: I’ve been in numerous jails, reformatories, chain-gang camps and penitentiaries. These 4 wouldn’t actually trouble me besides that I’ve gone and fallen in love, one thing that’s unusual and new to me. It’s one thing I’ve all the time managed to keep away from or overcome, however now it’s received me by the balls and this time is absolutely kicking my ass. I’ve grown bored with all this bullshit, and if my outdated woman sticks with me, I’m by with it. They provide large time for drugstores as of late, and Southern pens are tough. I’ve shot extra dope than many individuals have ever seen, gotten my share of ass and spent loads of cash. All I’ve received to point out for now, although, are just a few scars on my arms, some good recollections, and a lady who loves me. However in 4 years, who is aware of?
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