Authorities with the East Taylor Township Police Department say a Johnstown man is facing numerous felonies after admitting to stealing more than $30,000 worth of prescription narcotics from a local pharmacy where he was employed.
Police say Matthew Miller, 48, was recently fired from his job at Martella’s Pharmacy after multiple staff members reported “discrepancies” in the number of available pills that the pharmacy had in its inventory.
Police say, upon further investigation, Miller was reportedly observed on surveillance video allegedly stealing some of the pills, prompting the pharmacy to conduct an audit of its inventory of narcotics and terminate Miller.
Investigators say the completion of the audit revealed that Miller had allegedly stolen pills from over 100 various bottles of prescription narcotics, including Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Lorazepam and Xanax.
Police say the value of the total number of pills stolen was estimated at over $31,000.
Authorities say Miller was interviewed by police on Sept. 27, where he confessed to stealing the drugs, including pills that were not revealed in the audit.
According to the affidavit, police say he admitted that the thefts occurred while he was employed as a pharmacy tech for Martella’s Pharmacy.
Miller is being held at the Cambria County Prison on $75,000 bail, court dockets show.
He faces charges of criminal attempted theft, acquiring or possessing a controlled substance, forgery, receiving stolen property and various other drug-related charges, according to online court records.
Police also noted in the affidavit that during the course of the investigation, the pharmacy was provided with armed security as the staff reported that they were “afraid of retaliation” from Miller.
Miller’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 10.
