A 56-year-old Pinellas County man was arrested last week after stealing what he thought were opioids but were actually laxatives.
According to the Sacramento Bee, the man's roommate suspected him of stealing medication, so he switched the pills in the opioid bottle, secured the bottle in a lockbox and set up a surveillance camera. Sure enough, the camera caught Peter Emery breaking into the box and stealing the pills, then discarding them after taking realizing they weren't what he was after.
The roommate gave the video to the cops; when they confronted Emery, he admitted to the misguided crime and was charged with petit theft. Emery has two prior convictions for theft.
This article appears in Jan 24-31, 2019.